A costly 2 months

[Racing Truth]

Yes, it has been a very costly 2 months that KK spent chatting with the penguins. The series' reputation has taken a hit, it appears to be in disarray at times, and only TEN drivers are confirmed. For all the hopes we had, these 2 months shattered them for this yr. But...

...There is a silver lining here. As bad as things are (and they are bad), WE'RE STILL HERE, and so is Champ Car. It is not dead yet, and hopefully (please!) lessons have been learned from this pathetic debacle. The new car does look great, and we know it's fast.

So, KK et al. have ONE FINAL CHANCE. One more major screwup and it's turn out the lights time (or it should be, anyhow). Hopefully, that will not happen, and we can see if an OW series in this country can come out from under the shadows of a) it's own incompetence and b) the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Can it? No clue at all, but in fairness, its never really been tried. Yes, some of the above sounds like ,,,,tard, but I'm not, ahh, "unrealistic" about CC. This thing is in trouble, but I wanted to remind everyone that it isn't dead...YET.

[Wheel-Nut]

You're preaching to the choir.

[Spicoli]

Yes, it has been a very costly 2 months that KK spent chatting with the penguins. The series' reputation has taken a hit, it appears to be in disarray at times, and only TEN drivers are confirmed. For all the hopes we had, these 2 months shattered them for this yr. But...

...There is a silver lining here. As bad as things are (and they are bad), WE'RE STILL HERE, and so is Champ Car. It is not dead yet, and hopefully (please!) lessons have been learned from this pathetic debacle. The new car does look great, and we know it's fast.

So, KK et al. have ONE FINAL CHANCE. One more major screwup and it's turn out the lights time (or it should be, anyhow). Hopefully, that will not happen, and we can see if an OW series in this country can come out from under the shadows of a) it's own incompetence and b) the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Can it? No clue at all, but in fairness, its never really been tried. Yes, some of the above sounds like ,,,,tard, but I'm not, ahh, "unrealistic" about CC. This thing is in trouble, but I wanted to remind everyone that it isn't dead...YET.


bet he timnes his vacations a bit more wiselier next year, eh? :gomer:


have we hit bottom yet?:shakehead

[Racing Truth]

bet he timnes his vacations a bit more wiselier next year, eh? :gomer:


have we hit bottom yet?:shakehead

That, AND delegate power to someone w/ a brain.

Cam't imagine it getting worse, but in this sport, who knows?

[nrc]

The biggest problem is the loss of credibility that has resulted from failure to produce on the high expectations they created for car counts this season. If they had said all along that a new car and elliminating subsidies was going to create pressure on the field, it would not have created so much distress. Instead the owners were talking about 24-26 car fields.

That loss in credibility casts doubt over the important news from KK that team subsidies have halted. Ultimately that's an important step. If the worst of the bleeding has stopped then KK and GF can probably afford to sustain the series as long as they have an interest in doing so.

[Insomniac]

The Antarctica thing is nonsense. It's just an excuse from KK. What would be different if he was here?

Can things get worse? Probably. They seem to find new ways. I hope they don't though.

[devilmaster]

Cam't imagine it getting worse, but in this sport, who knows?

No, No. Dig UP stupid. ;)

[rabbit]

What would be different if he was here?Perception.

[Insomniac]

Perception.

The perception that he wasn't around for 2 months or the current perception of the series overall? I'm not sure how he makes Ford come back, more cars, more teams, more sponsors, etc.

[rabbit]

The perception that he doesn't GAF anymore. His company is in a major transitional period and he disappeared for two months, thereby creating the perception that nothing substantive was being worked on. I'm not saying that this perception is reality. But perception is often stronger than reality and KK is smart enough to know this.

[Gangrel]

In their defense, KK has stated from the start, and restated on a few occasions, that he expected to see 24-26 within a few years, and that was the cap. He never stated, and has since rightfully denied stating, that they will have 24-26 in 2007. Recheck his quotes. I don't think there was anything deceptive in his words.

He did, however, create the expectation that we would see somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 this year. IMHO, I think he may have pulled the subsidies one year too early. Might have been nice to partially fund the field with the new car the first year, then cut the cord and see how it flies. But hey! I don't run the series...he probably knows better than me.....

[Andrew Longman]

In their defense, KK has stated from the start, and restated on a few occasions, that he expected to see 24-26 within a few years, and that was the cap. He never stated, and has since rightfully denied stating, that they will have 24-26 in 2007. Recheck his quotes. I don't think there was anything deceptive in his words.

He did, however, create the expectation that we would see somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 this year. IMHO, I think he may have pulled the subsidies one year too early. Might have been nice to partially fund the field with the new car the first year, then cut the cord and see how it flies. But hey! I don't run the series...he probably knows better than me.....

Agreed. And surely his Antartica comment was meant as a joke. People with holdings such as his are never out of touch.

Car count will come with sponsorship.

Continued subsidies have proven to take away the teams' incentive to seek sponsorship

The series did the one most important thing to help improve sponsorship, namely get a better TV deal.

And they have focused on creating events that lend themselve better to corporate participation

And they lowered the cost of running in the series while increasing parity among the teams.

Granted the TV deal doesn't really get a lot better until next year and sponsors will likely want to see better ratings performance before jumping in a major way, so maybe the subsidies should continue for another year, but short of handing sponsorships to the teams, what else should the series have done?

Surely they needed to manage expectations better and peace needed to be better kept among the players. Too much is spilling into the public and solidarity is something that KK should have demanded from the start. To me, these things are more the issue.

[KLang]

One more thing, when some of the car count predictions/hopes were made it was thought Gelles was going to be stepping up as he announced back in July. If that was supposed to be a two car operation that would have made the car count around 20 or better. No idea what happened to Gelles though.

[jonovision_man]

One more thing, when some of the car count predictions/hopes were made it was thought Gelles was going to be stepping up as he announced back in July. If that was supposed to be a two car operation that would have made the car count around 20 or better. No idea what happened to Gelles though.

And Stoddart was supposed to be starting up a team, not buying into an existing one.

And Russo was supposed to be sticking around, not selling.

There was reason for optimism, but business realities got in the way.

jono

[NismoZ]

Thankyou (all 3) for pointing out things to many here who obviously find it much easier to play the blame game than search out actual reasons why certain events happen. I have a fairly strong opinion about which behavior will lead to a better future. DAMN Kimmel and Short! And while we're at it let's just kill Rommel:shakehead

[Insomniac]

And Stoddart was supposed to be starting up a team, not buying into an existing one.

And Russo was supposed to be sticking around, not selling.

There was reason for optimism, but business realities got in the way.

jono

Part of that is the rush to announce these things before they're really a done deal. I don't think we'll ever kniw how confident they were when they thiught it would happen. It's a little scary to me when I read things about RuSport, that when people saw the numbers they just walked away. I wonder what changed so much that Gelles backed out and Stoddart bought into a team that ran 2 cars and kept it at 2 cars.

[GOFAST1]

Great. One more original post obout dead horse. Yeap,Champcar sucks, take some prozac and go back to your negative world of depression. Can't wait for Vegas.

[KLang]

Can't wait for Vegas.

I'll second this part :thumbup: Working on setting up some dinner reservations for the trip as a matter of fact.

[Ed_Severson]

Great. One more original post obout dead horse. Yeap,Champcar sucks, take some prozac and go back to your negative world of depression.

are,,,you,,,,,,lost?

[GOFAST1]

are,,,you,,,,,,lost?

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

[nrc]

Great. One more original post obout dead horse. Yeap,Champcar sucks, take some prozac and go back to your negative world of depression. Can't wait for Vegas.

If you can't deal with Champ car fans with contrary opinions, you're in the wrong place.

[GOFAST1]

If you can't deal with Champ car fans with contrary opinions, you're in the wrong place.

You are talking obout you right?

[Fio1]

What CCWS needs is an owner who's job is to run a race series. Having a guy like KK is fine as team owner, but as head of a series it's not the best. I look at ALMS, which has basically the same scenario as CCWS; a rich team owner who happened to buy the series (Don Panoz). But, Panoz hired IMSA to see the day to day operations of the series. CCWS needs to do the same. Or start their own sanctioning body, but hire 10-15 guys that can run the series like a country.

[GOFAST1]

What CCWS needs is an owner who's job is to run a race series. Having a guy like KK is fine as team owner, but as head of a series it's not the best. I look at ALMS, which has basically the same scenario as CCWS; a rich team owner who happened to buy the series (Don Panoz). But, Panoz hired IMSA to see the day to day operations of the series. CCWS needs to do the same. Or start their own sanctioning body, but hire 10-15 guys that can run the series like a country.



Agree.They should hire top management and invest in the purse.How to make it better is all obout.

[Andrew Longman]

Great. One more original post obout dead horse. Yeap,Champcar sucks, take some prozac and go back to your negative world of depression. Can't wait for Vegas.

I can't wait for Vegas either and while I am not as depressed as some here I think you'd be better off understanding that there is a reason most people here are not at CCF or TF. Folks here are not too much into cheerleading and just try to get whatever joy they can from thoughtful discussion and conjecture based on reasonably confirmed facts.

Right now most here have been around long enough to be pretty depressed by the current set of facts.

[Insomniac]

You are talking obout you right?

Regardless of your take, he's saying if you want everyone to agree with you, you won't find it at this forum.

[Insomniac]

invest in the purse

I see this said by a few people. I get that the general gist is that it would attract more people to come race if the winnings were better.

My question is, doesn't this just benefit the haves? The new teams would not only have a hard time getting sponsorship but then winning to get a share of that purse.

So, if the money is coming from the series (i.e. KK and GF) would it not be better spent on the have nots and getting new teams?

[Andrew Longman]

My question is, doesn't this just benefit the haves? The new teams would not only have a hard time getting sponsorship but then winning to get a share of that purse.

Depends on the size of the purse and how it is distributed. If you pay enough down to last place it takes a lot of the risk out of investing in a team and a whole lot less dependent on finding a sponsor or a paying driver.

But if you do find a sponsor you can afford to invest in a better driver and team.

Takes away some of the current chicken and egg issues. Of course having promoters pay real sanctioning fees and/or title sponsors funding the purse it helps to build the purse.

I've seen NASCAR purses detailed and almost every lap is funded by some sponsor, sometimes by some very small and local business, but it adds up.

[GOFAST1]

Regardless of your take, he's saying if you want everyone to agree with you, you won't find it at this forum.

Not looking to agree with me at all, but sick and tired of negative post after post. I have a hope and still believe that we are better then last year and 3 years before. Perfect? Not even close, but it's not that bad as nascar channel is reporting and I will not be a critic in every single post of people who are spending money to run it .Ideas I like, but beating dead horse is old and waste of time that can be used to let's say e-mail a sponsor or something to help series that we all love. Fantasy land? Im ok with it.

[G.]

Agree.They should hire top management and invest in the purse.How to make it better is all obout.Yay! Now we are getting somewhere!!!

Management: I agree, but I cannot see "inside", just the external perception. SJ may be doing WONDERFUL stuff, but I don't see it. Yet. External looks real dismal.

Now. Discuss.:thumbup:

Purse: Do you think that that will draw more cars to the series? I am not convinced, but am willing to BE convinced.

Now. Discuss.

Bonus:The car breaks the freaking record at LS!:thumbup:
Do you think that CCWS can spin that into national media attention? I would hope they try! Ain't seeing it so far. Anyone?

Bonus2: Vegas should be fun! You going, GOFAST1?

(I'm pretty middle-of-the-road as far as cheerleading vs. D&G. My expectations for 2007 were pretty low, yet somehow CC managed to underwhelm even me. But the DP01 looks awesome.)

[GOFAST1]

Yay! Now we are getting somewhere!!!

Management: I agree, but I cannot see "inside", just the external perception. SJ may be doing WONDERFUL stuff, but I don't see it. Yet. External looks real dismal.

Now. Discuss.:thumbup:

Purse: Do you think that that will draw more cars to the series? I am not convinced, but am willing to BE convinced.

Now. Discuss.

Bonus:The car breaks the freaking record at LS!:thumbup:
Do you think that CCWS can spin that into national media attention? I would hope they try! Ain't seeing it so far. Anyone?

Bonus2: Vegas should be fun! You going, GOFAST1?

(I'm pretty middle-of-the-road as far as cheerleading vs. D&G. My expectations for 2007 were pretty low, yet somehow CC managed to underwhelm even me. But the DP01 looks awesome.)

Better! Im not going to Vegas but for sure Im going to Toronto, Cleveland and RA like I do every year. See you at a races.

[extramundane]

You are talking obout you right?

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[oddlycalm]

That loss in credibility casts doubt over the important news from KK that team subsidies have halted. Ultimately that's an important step. Exactly right, managing expectations is a huge part of any business turnaround, and that's KK's specialty. That begs the question did ending subsidies happened ahead of schedule....?

As an outsider it seems far more likely there was an unplanned course correction than CCWS blithely pumping up expectations all the while knowing they would never materialize. They may be lame, but are they that lame? We were being told that some Atlantics teams were moving up and that 40 DP01's had been ordered, and now we have penguins...? Did they lose significant revenue they had planned on? Ford leaving? Seems unlikely but possible.

What I do see clearly is growing discontent on the part of Forsythe. We saw evidence of that last season with the Cotman incident, etc., we heard he was livid after AJA walked away, and now comes the one car effort. Forsythe no longer looks like a guy who believes in the future of his own series

IMO, and that's the most disquieting aspect of all. Is this the same guy that kept buying CART stock when everyone was selling and the guy who was gung ho to buy the assets out of bankruptcy, buy Cosworth, buy Long Beach and run a three car team not so long ago? :confused: I pay a lot less attention to what is said than what is done, and what Forsythe is doing is giving me the chills.

oc

[Ankf00]

I will not be a critic in every single post of people who are spending money to run it .

http://www.jpbutler.com/new-zealand/images/many-sheep-from-three-feet-away.jpg


Those in public positions are open for criticism. Especially those in executive management who fail to deliver promised results time and time again. In reality, that gets you canned. On fantasy island, that earns praise.

[Racing Truth]

1.
Great. One more original post obout dead horse. Yeap,Champcar sucks, take some prozac and go back to your negative world of depression. Can't wait for Vegas.

2.
You are talking obout you right?

1. If you're referring to me, read again. I'm TRYING to inject some hope, while admitting the problems.

2. :rofl: :rofl: :laugh:

[Insomniac]

Depends on the size of the purse and how it is distributed. If you pay enough down to last place it takes a lot of the risk out of investing in a team and a whole lot less dependent on finding a sponsor or a paying driver.

But if you do find a sponsor you can afford to invest in a better driver and team.

Takes away some of the current chicken and egg issues. Of course having promoters pay real sanctioning fees and/or title sponsors funding the purse it helps to build the purse.

I've seen NASCAR purses detailed and almost every lap is funded by some sponsor, sometimes by some very small and local business, but it adds up.

Like I said, if it's coming out of the pockets of CC, wouldn't it be better invested with the have nots? Maybe reduce the $1M/yr over 3 years package a little bit. I understand the current owners might wonder why they don't get the discount, but more teams/cars would most likely help the entire series. So you give up a little short term for more long term.

[Dr. Corkski]

Having a guy like KK is fine as team owner, but as head of a series it's not the best.Because PKV has been a pillar of success.

[Insomniac]

Not looking to agree with me at all, but sick and tired of negative post after post. I have a hope and still believe that we are better then last year and 3 years before.

All these negative posts aren't based on hope or belief. They're based on the facts that are out there and that's what we're discussing. None of us want CC to go away or things to be bad, but what's going on right now isn't an improvement and the facts support it.

[Insomniac]

What I do see clearly is growing discontent on the part of Forsythe. We saw evidence of that last season with the Cotman incident, etc., we heard he was livid after AJA walked away, and now comes the one car effort. Forsythe no longer looks like a guy who believes in the future of his own series

IMO, and that's the most disquieting aspect of all. Is this the same guy that kept buying CART stock when everyone was selling and the guy who was gung ho to buy the assets out of bankruptcy, buy Cosworth, buy Long Beach and run a three car team not so long ago? :confused: I pay a lot less attention to what is said than what is done, and what Forsythe is doing is giving me the chills.

oc

This concerns me too, but what is most odd is noone is getting it straight from GF. It's always rumblings, or "there is talk". Where has GF been? Where was he while KK was in Antarctica? Why is he so quiet?

[Andrew Longman]

This concerns me too, but what is most odd is noone is getting it straight from GF. It's always rumblings, or "there is talk". Where has GF been? Where was he while KK was in Antarctica? Why is he so quiet?

Hopefully looking for sponsorship since the one thing he has been quoted on is not running a second car without sponsorship. Sadly, it would seem that if sponsorship didn't show up by LS its not going to show up.

Does anyone know what the series is actually doing to help teams get sponsorship? Do they have anyone helping teams to develop marketing plans and pitch sponsorships? Are they collecting metrics that make a ROI business case for sponsorship and giving that to teams? Are they cultivating business relationships and fostering introductions?

If not, I know someone who could do this.;)

[Spicoli]

Hopefully looking for sponsorship since the one thing he has been quoted on is not running a second car without sponsorship. Sadly, it would seem that if sponsorship didn't show up by LS its not going to show up.

Does anyone know what the series is actually doing to help teams get sponsorship? Do they have anyone helping teams to develop marketing plans and pitch sponsorships? Are they collecting metrics that make a ROI business case for sponsorship and giving that to teams? Are they cultivating business relationships and fostering introductions?

If not, I know someone who could do this.;)


ChampCar marketing has been so micro-managed, mis-managed, and changed directions so many times, nobody takes them seriously anymore.

As is very simple and logical, you have to be able to define just what the hell it is you are selling. We've been over this a hundred times, so I won't repeat it here.

The best start they could have is to get the TV right (I think they are on the right track), incentivize investment from new and existing teams, stabilize the scedule, and begin looking for marketable drivers and other personalities. Start building a vertical market or 2 for the sponsors to participate in, and move forward.

And PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE take Gentilosie and that Johnson guy and get rid of them forever. :flame:

[nrc]

incentivize investment

Is incentivize a real verb? If it is it's an easy one to apply when it's other people providing the incentivization.

At some point the hand-outs had to end. Maybe now wasn't the right time, but I don't think it can be part of an ongoing growth plan.

[Spicoli]

Is incentivize a real verb? If it is it's an easy one to apply when it's other people providing the incentivization.

At some point the hand-outs had to end. Maybe now wasn't the right time, but I don't think it can be part of an ongoing growth plan.

I make up words all the time. thrutching. that's a good one. :eek:

But seriously, it does NOT have to be about handouts, and never should have been about handouts. Rather it should be about the entire series working together in ways that maximize sponsors' and team owners' investments. My understanding is that CCWS is paying pretty handsomely for the ESPN & Network deals. That's a start. What I am talking about is matching grants for lack of a better term. You raise 2 million, we'll throw in 1m or 500k or whatever. There's all kinds of creative ways to make this happen - co-oping, series sponsors, the driver scholarship program, etc.

I sure know it would be a very tough sell to get CCWS sponsoships (of any significance) right now.

And as much as I hate to say it, the "other guys" have Indy, and you just have to know that that is the NUMBER ONE point they pitch.

[devilmaster]

At some point the hand-outs had to end. Maybe now wasn't the right time, but I don't think it can be part of an ongoing growth plan.

Agreed that they hopefully will end sometime, but Ziggy was right - it shouldn't end when they introduce a new car and no one knows how costly it'll be to run a full season.

Instead of pulling all of the monies away, you tell the teams you're investing part of it into the purse. The idea is that the handout is not as much as years past, but with a partial or full sponsor, the purse, a pay driver and some luck that the new car is cheaper to run, you should be close to breaking even. If you find multiple sponsors then you should have enough to hire your drivers, and make some cash.

If you can show that teams can do that, then you'll see more teams come in.

[oddlycalm]

For my money nrc hit the nail on the head and the question remains why did a company run by a veteran turnaround artist mismanage expectations so hideously. Something changed. We all feel it (all except GOFAST1 anyway), we just don't know what it is yet.

oc

[Fio1]

A series doesn't need to have hand outs to help their teams. Look at Grand-Am; they don't have hand out, they just introduce sponsors to teams. You realise that Sun Trust is not only a sponsor on the Wayne Taylor car but also happenes to be Daytona's and Nascar's bank, right? These kind of deals are being made all day long. CCWS should make some B to B deals like that as well.

For example; a few years ago, when the races were shown on Eurosport in Europe, the coverage was sponsored by Huskavarna. They would mention Huskarvana 25-50 times during the show. I wondered why Huskavarna was never seen on one of the cars. :eek: If a company sponsors it's local race then that company should have it's name on one of the cars as well. For an extra 100 grand, you can have your name on the side pod. That 100 grand can be quite useful for a team, now running with an empty sidepod. Which teams get the deal would alternate. But, maybe one will land a full time deal out of it. That same team as a thank you, would run a radio station's call letters on their rear wing in exchange for CCWS promos about the up coming race. That radio station can sell the spot on the rear wing to one of their best clients (advertisers) or use it themselves. 1000 radio spots for a rear wing ad. There are a lot of ways to skin a cat and CCWS management should hire people that can do those kinds of things! :tony:

[Spicoli]

A series doesn't need to have hand outs to help their teams. Look at Grand-Am; they don't have hand out, they just introduce sponsors to teams. You realise that Sun Trust is not only a sponsor on the Wayne Taylor car but also happenes to be Daytona's and Nascar's bank, right? These kind of deals are being made all day long. CCWS should make some B to B deals like that as well.

For example; a few years ago, when the races were shown on Eurosport in Europe, the coverage was sponsored by Huskavarna. They would mention Huskarvana 25-50 times during the show. I wondered why Huskavarna was never seen on one of the cars. :eek: If a company sponsors it's local race then that company should have it's name on one of the cars as well. For an extra 100 grand, you can have your name on the side pod. That 100 grand can be quite useful for a team, now running with an empty sidepod. Which teams get the deal would alternate. But, maybe one will land a full time deal out of it. That same team as a thank you, would run a radio station's call letters on their rear wing in exchange for CCWS promos about the up coming race. That radio station can sell the spot on the rear wing to one of their best clients (advertisers) or use it themselves. 1000 radio spots for a rear wing ad. There are a lot of ways to skin a cat and CCWS management should hire people that can do those kinds of things! :tony:

that's all great, but when you have so many changing dates, venues, races, drivers, tems etc.....(EG: we only have 10 confirmed drivers and about 3 races suspect to even happening) how the F do you implement that plan?


It's as simple as KK himself needs to take the bull by the horns and driver this thing out of the *****ter.

[G.]

GOFAST1, you paying attention? ^^^^^^ That's how to play.


Is incentivize a real verb? If it is it's an easy one to apply when it's other people providing the incentivization.:laugh: :laugh: :rofl:

Are the B2B opportunities there? I thought that there would be (again) once CDW came on board. My feeble understanding of the B2B links are the little guys tag onto the big guys and overspend, which makes for a happy paddock. Anyone signing up to cozy up to CDW?

[jonovision_man]

Part of that is the rush to announce these things before they're really a done deal. I don't think we'll ever kniw how confident they were when they thiught it would happen. It's a little scary to me when I read things about RuSport, that when people saw the numbers they just walked away. I wonder what changed so much that Gelles backed out and Stoddart bought into a team that ran 2 cars and kept it at 2 cars.

Maybe things changed, maybe things were oversold to us before people had truly made up their minds. All I know is that KK and GF's comments had me feeling pretty optimistic at the end if 2006... I feel very let down with what it appears they'll be bringing to the track in 2007.

jono

[jonovision_man]

I have a hope and still believe that we are better then last year and 3 years before.

What's better? The DP-01 will be better, but is the grid any better? Nope. Sponsorship any better? Nope. More drivers willing to buy a ride, I guess you could look at that as a positive.


Perfect? Not even close, but it's not that bad as nascar channel is reporting and I will not be a critic in every single post of people who are spending money to run it .

It's a business, not a charity. They're selling a product. Do you think KK and GF are doing this to be atruistic? They're playing race cars and trying to turn a business around so they can make some cash, or at the very least recover some of what they've lost...

But what really leaves them open to criticism is the undelivered promises to fans... when you've over-promised and under-delivered so many times, you're either very bad at predicting the future or lying through your teeth.

jono

[Spicoli]

What's better? The DP-01 will be better, but is the grid any better? Nope. Sponsorship any better? Nope. More drivers willing to buy a ride, I guess you could look at that as a positive.



It's a business, not a charity. They're selling a product. Do you think KK and GF are doing this to be atruistic? They're playing race cars and trying to turn a business around so they can make some cash, or at the very least recover some of what they've lost...

But what really leaves them open to criticism is the undelivered promises to fans... when you've over-promised and under-delivered so many times, you're either very bad at predicting the future or lying through your teeth.
jono

Or just really bad at what you do. :D

[oddlycalm]

But what really leaves them open to criticism is the undelivered promises to fans... when you've over-promised and under-delivered so many times, you're either very bad at predicting the future or lying through your teeth. And that brings us right back to managing expectations. If they had said at the end of the 2006 season that they would have a couple dozen DP01's, 6 teams, 10 drivers and they didn't know where the rest would come from when 16 cars showed up on the grid everyone would have thought it was a win. Instead it will be viewed as a betrayal. The question remains what went wrong and so far we have no answers that make any sense.

oc

[Insomniac]

incentivize investment from new and existing teams

Expanding on this, how about a program to match the amount of money the teams can generate in real sponsorship? Yes, it is a handout from the owners, but it also requires a team to go find some sponsorship as well. Unfortunately, the one flaw I see is teams that have "enough" money not asking for their piece of the pie too. Again, looking out for themselves now, instead of thinking long term series growth.

Edit: And if I read further, I'd see you said the same thing. Duh.

[jonovision_man]

And that brings us right back to managing expectations. If they had said at the end of the 2006 season that they would have a couple dozen DP01's, 6 teams, 10 drivers and they didn't know where the rest would come from when 16 cars showed up on the grid everyone would have thought it was a win. Instead it will be viewed as a betrayal. The question remains what went wrong and so far we have no answers that make any sense.

oc

Agreed... almost. :) I think everyone generally sees 18 as the minimum acceptable grid where they'd say things are "good enough".

But if they'd at least said "look, we're working with some new teams, nothing is concrete but the interest is there, we're going to try as hard as we can to get a full grid out there for Las Vegas"... I'd have a lot more respect for them if they tried and came up a little short.

Instead they talked about how they'd have to limit the grid size to 24 due to space limitations... :p Dodged that bullet!

Meh. I'm probably still going to watch. Assuming there's a Canadian TV contract in the wings...

jono

[Spicoli]

Expanding on this, how about a program to match the amount of money the teams can generate in real sponsorship? Yes, it is a handout from the owners, but it also requires a team to go find some sponsorship as well. Unfortunately, the one flaw I see is teams that have "enough" money not asking for their piece of the pie too. Again, looking out for themselves now, instead of thinking long term series growth.

Edit: And if I read further, I'd see you said the same thing. Duh.

Yep, there are 100 ways to get creative and set some momentum going.

IMHO, as I have said, 2 main things need to happen:

1. KK has to, I mean day to day, get this thing moving. IMHO nobody bu tthe guy at the top can really get the tough job done. It's his money, it's his rep, its his baby.

2. Pick a sponsor platform. A b2b, even b2c platform, use whatever personal gravy you have to KK (hell - give it away!), and hook a Google, a FedEx, a MS, a Nabisco, a Hyundai - somebody at or near the top of the food chain, and build from there.


Kevin has ability and Kevin has connections. But so far he's dropped the ball with Limpy Dick and Johnson. MHO - David Clare....but there are others.