One Man's Aero Kit is Another's Opportunity

I started out posting this as a comment over at Pressdog's site, but, because of some security issue with my home pc, it wouldn't post. Halfway through writing my comment, I decided that I would refine and rework my ideas and post them here on my own page anyway. Here goes.

The latest fan outrage du jour has to do with the owners voting not to have multiple aero kits until 2013. I read through a litany of posts and positions on this issue. There are so many reasons told, not told, for, against, and NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS (thank you, P'dog,) that it makes my head numb. Some say it's a timeline issue, some complain about costs, though I don't quite understand that one. No one is putting a gun to anyone's head saying they HAVE to purchase anything. Every team, to my knowledge, will have the option to stay with the "stock" Dallara aero package.

There are some who are saying that this owner's "vote" is an attempt to test the will of Randy Bernard, sort of a "Let's show him who's boss," type of thing. Excuse me, fellas, but the road is littered with initials of series who thought that was the way to do business. Been there. Done that. Don't want another t-shirt. You pissed off way too many fans before, and with TV ratings where they are, you don't need to do that again.

Let's look at some basic truths from the fan's perspective. We all want new cars. We are tired of watching 9 year old sleds that outlived their real usefulness around 2006. We're all tired of a "spec" series. This series, in its heyday, was always about innovation. We want more of that. We want speed back at Indy. We want engines that are tuned up, even if they occasionally blow up.

If this was all about the driver, everything else being equal, IROC would be the number one form of racing in the world. It isn't. This needs to be about engineering. Andy Granatelli noted on "Trackside," the best way to do this would be for there to be NO RULES other than those mandated for safety. Andy knows two things very well: He knows promotion and he knows innovation. (As in STP, the Novi, and the turbine cars.)

So, let me throw out just a nutso idea: How about we debut the new aero kits at the 2012 Indy 500?

Word is that the basic tub with the Dallara package will be ready in December or January, but the aero kits might not be ready to go til May. Could that window for the new kits be shortened to, say, mid-April? If so, then try this on for size.

Book a two day open test at Indianapolis on one of the "off" weekends in April, at which time teams could test different packages. For example, let's say Penske tests a Lotus package and it goes fast and is stable right out of the box. SALE MADE. Money changes hands. Thank you for the $70,000, here's your parts, Captain. On the other hand, if it handles like a pig, well, back to the drawing board, Lotus. NO SALE. Come back with a new mousetrap in May (or later.)

Here's a little secret: If it goes fast and wins races, everyone is going to want to buy it. Sure, the manufacturers have a modicum of risk here, in that someone could destroy $70K in carbon fiber, but essentially that risk would have to be shared somehow between owner and manufacturer.

Now look at how this works for everybody.

Engine manufacturers get to test engines. Since they're all going to be new, an April test means you've got time to fix anything that happens before the "Fortnight of May." Penske may decide that the new Chevy goes faster with their set-up than the Honda. This leads to panic in Japan as Honda engineers try to tweak their product.

From a PR standpoint, you've put activity on a weekend when you would have had none, and believe me, if Indy is involved, fans will be paying attention. Versus (or whatever incarnation they've become by then,) gets some programming that they can use. (After all, how many fishing shows can you watch in one afternoon?)

If I'm Randy Bernard, I'm loving it! It gives me some down time to promote my upcoming big event. (Picture Randy here, pounding away on a rather large bass drum.)

To the Speedway, it's like this: Y'all did it for NASCAR. And we're not bringing some slow-ass tintops to the corner of 16th and Georgetown, we're bringing real race cars going real fast, and doing honest to God testing. You can sell a boatload of hot dogs, souvenirs, and museum admissions, and ancillary stuff, since you'll probably have anywhere between 5000 and 7000 folks drop in over the two days, especially if you promote it. Throw in a charity golf event, just for shits and giggles.

If I'm a manufacturer of aero kits, I get to see just what the other guys have out there. Maybe there's no real difference; or maybe someone gets the proverbial upper hand. But everyone gets the benefit and still has time to do some tweaking before the wheels get turned in anger. And, by the time we're ready to go racing in May, we're showing off our"hot new stuff" to the largest audience, both live and televised, we'll get all year.

I'm sure there is someone out there who's going to tell me this can't happen. Hell, I'm just a full time fan and part-time blogger who wants to see new cars go fast. I want to see this generation of innovation in ALL aspects, speed, fuel efficiency, handling, and overall engineering. Most of all, after 9+ years of boring, I want NEW.

Please don't make me wait. I'm not getting any younger.