For 2017 ... INDYCAR's "NEXT" Is Next

Will this finally be the year that Helio Castroneves captures the Verizon IndyCar Series season championship? In IndyCar competition, Castroneves has 23 wins and 38 poles, and placed second in the season standings four times, third two times and fourth four times - but never one series championship. Maybe more importantly, Castroneves won the Indianapolis 500 in 2001, 2002 and 2009, making him one of only nine total drivers, and the only active driver, to have won this iconic race at least three times. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2016)

For 2017 ... INDYCAR's "NEXT" Is Next

On New Year's Day, INDYCAR released the fourth chapter of its "Racing Heart" advertising campaign designed to kick off the 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series season.

Following three consecutive years showcasing the thrilling traits of the sport, INDYCAR's communications in 2017 will feature the next exciting chapter of on-track action, the next drivers to watch, the next technology and innovation.

The theme "NEXT" builds upon the successful season concepts "RIVALS," "SPEED" and "LEGENDS." With the turning of the calendar, a brand video teasing the new communication plan was shared via social and digital media.

INDYCAR's "NEXT" is next.

"We're confident and focused on INDYCAR's future," said C.J. O'Donnell, chief marketing officer of INDYCAR and Indianapolis Motor Speedway. "The theme 'NEXT' will effectively deliver our message of continued growth and expresses the momentum our sport has experienced the last three seasons."

INDYCAR's growth since 2013 has been highlighted by a 55 percent increase in overall television viewership across all Verizon IndyCar Series broadcasts on ABC and NBCSN. The series also has experienced increases in event attendance, including six record crowds during the 2016 season.

The theme "NEXT" was developed for the upcoming Verizon IndyCar Series season in cooperation with brand agency partner Johnson & Wolverton and will be prominent in television, digital, print, radio and social platforms.

The theme also speaks to INDYCAR's expanded audience reach.

INDYCAR's success as the fastest-growing form of motorsport in the United States today has come through embracing its core audience, fans who have loved Indy car racing for decades. Studies show the brand attributes of the Verizon IndyCar Series - the speed, sound and thrilling nature of the sport - also resonate with the next generation of fans and that youth movement allows INDYCAR to expand its target audience to Gen X and Gen Z like never before.

The initial emphasis will be on 2016 series champion Simon Pagenaud and new American star Alexander Rossi, the winner of the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil this past May. Plus, there will be excitement for driver/dancer James Hinchcliffe, Josef Newgarden, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Will Power, Graham Rahal and several other bold drivers.

INDYCAR will use the excitement emanating from the next century of Indianapolis 500s at every event across the 17-race season, including the next track to join the momentum: Gateway Motorsports Park near St. Louis.

The Verizon IndyCar Series schedule begins March 12 with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg and will be highlighted by the 101st Running of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race on May 28.
(ht: IndyCar)

... notes from The EDJE



TAGS: Verizon IndyCar Series, Helio Castroneves, James Hinchcliffe, Josef Newgarden, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Will Power, Graham Rahal, Simon Pagenaud, Alexander Rossi, Indianapolis 500, "Racing Heart", "NEXT", ABC, NBCSN, The EDJE

Qualifications for the Iowa Corn Indy 250 requires cheat sheets

Defending Iowa Corn Indy 250 race winner Ryan Hunter-Reay: "The Iowa Speedway oval is one of a kind; a very unique track that makes for some of the closest racing of the year. Last year's race came down to the wire and I expect the same this year." Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012)

Qualifications for the Iowa Corn Indy 250 requires cheat sheets

Let's be honest, changing racing formats up to create attention and increase fan interest sounds like a good idea until one recognizes that the elements that have changed will not be televised. That's right, for Iowa Corn Indy 250 presented by DEKALB, the three 50 Lap sprint races (150 Laps total) to be run Saturday evening, used to establish the starting order (with bonus points awarded for positions 1-12 earned) of the official points paying race on Sunday, will not be televised.

The lack of television broadcast options leaves real fans with IndyCar Race Control Timing and Scoring, Smart Phones (IndyCar 13 App) and ... cheat sheets.

Iowa Corn Indy 250 presented by DEKALB cheat sheet. Eighteen-second laps on the .875-mile Iowa Speedway oval -- 150 Laps for qualifications and 250 Laps in the Iowa Corn Indy 250 presented by DEKALB -- is a dizzying pace for IZOD IndyCar Series drivers ... and spectators.  Image Credit: IndyCar.com

This excerpted and edited from IndyCar.com -

The heat races include transfers to Race 3 for the top two finishers in the first two qualifying races.

Positions in the three heat races will be determined by single-car, single-lap qualifying (4 p.m. ET) on the .875-mile, variably-banked oval. A blind draw will determine the qualifying order. Practice  (11:45 a.m.-1 p.m. ET) and qualifying also are featured on indycar.com and INDYCAR 13 with Timing & Scoring and the IMS Radio Network call.

Here's the format, which adds the lure of bonus points – from nine points for the Verizon P1 Award winner and descending by one point each position to three points for seventh-eighth, two points for ninth and 10th and one point for 11th and 12th:

Race 1 -- Will consist of the even-numbered positions, starting with position 8 from single-car qualifying. The results of Race 1 shall determine the even-numbered positions in the starting field, starting with position 12. The top two finishers will transfer to Race 3 and start in positions 8 and 10.

Race 2 -- Will consist of the odd-numbered positions, starting with position 7 from single-car qualifying. The results of Race 2 shall determine the odd-numbered positions in the starting field, starting with position 11. The top two finishers will transfer to Race 3 and start in positions 7 and 9.

Race 3 -- Will consist of positions 1 through 6 from single-car qualifying plus the first- and second-place finishers from Races 1 and 2 to determine the pole winner and the first five rows of the starting grid.
(Reference Here)

As far as the race is concerned, IndyCar, with its patchwork of television broadcasting of points paying races will have Iowa Corn Indy 250 presented by DEKALB be presented by the network general broadcast outlet of ABC and its affiliates. Anytime IndyCar can appear on general broadcast versus cable only outlets increases access and should be the major consideration for fan base expansion going forward post unification.

The lack of televised coverage (Cable Only or General Broadcast) for the 150 Laps of qualifications racing (more than half of the number of laps to be run in the race itself on Sunday), seems really counter-productive to fan interest development, especially when one includes the complexity of the 3 Heat Race format.

The race will also be available on IMS Radio Network affiliates, XM/Sirius 211, indycar.com (IMS Radio Network and Timing & Scoring) and INDYCAR 13 (in-car cameras, Timing & Scoring, IMS Radio Network).

... notes from The EDJE

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**Article first posted as Qualifications For The Iowa Corn Indy 250 Requires Cheat Sheets at Motorsports Unplugged**

ALMS 2011 Broadcast Agreement Embraces New Media In The Mix

Turn 11 and the beginning of the front straightaway along Shoreline Drive at the 2010 Toyota Grand Prix event in Long Beach, California. Here the American Le Mans Series #16 Mazda Dyson Racing car begins another lap while hugging the wall that defines the outside of the track. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2010)

ALMS 2011 Broadcast Agreement Embraces New Media In The Mix

The American Le Mans Series presented by Taquila Patron (ALMS) in announcing its new multi-year broadcast media deal with ABC/ESPN and its overall content portals affirmed its intention to remain at the technological leading edge and intersection of presentation and fan communications interaction.

The original announcement released on January 3, 2010 while somewhat complete, needed a little more than a press release to fully expose what plans for the 2011 season and the future of event broadcast and communications the ALMS plans to roll out to the potential consuming public - from the casually interested all the way through the fan ladder to the fully immersed.

The agreement and schedule released in the original announcement gave hints at a whole new way the ALMS is wishing to approach racing series event broadcasts, fan interaction and sponsor timeshare access to a specific target market.

This is one of the areas where the partnership of the ALMS with Intersport, an award-winning media and marketing agency, begins to pay dividends. The innovative deal put together by this partnership involves televising the world’s premier sports car series over several ABC/ESPN programming and media platforms, including ABC, ESPN2 and ESPN3.com. The event content for each platform or communications portal will be tailored to appeal to the attention and interest level in each potential fan and consumer ... and potentially on an international basis as well. The feeling going into this agreement was always to be able to have an integrated media approach, where the ALMS, in concert with the extensive production capabilities of the 25 year old Intersport, in order to get the most out of, arguably, the most extensive yet integrated sports media broadcast and media properties organization available on the scene today.

Television broadcasts, either through tailored production packages and/or live transmission, will always be the medium where one reaches the core fan due to ease of access and availability of audience. For example, ABC TV national broadcasts for sporting events reach an audience of about 115.9 million. Unfortunately, this portal can be characterized as one that has little patience for events that, by definition, last longer than 2-3 hours, or about the content size of other major sporting events. When ABC is not available, ESPN2 will take over the tailored production broadcast duties and be able to reach an estimated 99.7 million sets.

The 100% live broadcast duties will be handled by the relatively new, New Media portal on the web, ESPN3.com which has a broadband broadcast potential reach equal to that of the more well known cable broadcast outlet, SPEED Channel (confirmed in a conversation between Intersport and SPEED) at about 65 million users. The additional beauty of having a web portal for content delivery is the added benefit of content on demand. If one cannot be available for the live broadcast of the race or event, one can run the file on demand in order to experience the whole event.

Further, there will be opportunities to develop and expand the communicative reach through the connection of social media platforms found throughout the web. Corvette, Audi, BMW, Porsche, and other car enthusiast forums will soon have the opportunity to directly interface (possibly through RSS and other New Media digital broadcast feed concepts) upon which to share timely information.

MPG's Dean Batchelor Award - Since 1995, Motor Press Guild’s annual Dean Batchelor Award has recognized “the journalist judged to have produced the single piece of work which best represents the professional standards and excellence demanded by Dean Batchelor during his life as an editor, writer, and chronicler of the automotive industry.” In more recent years, the “DBA” has expanded to single out awards in four disciplines: Articles, Audio-Visual, Books and Photography. The winner of each receives the MPG Best of the Year award in that category, while one of those winners is chosen for the overall Dean Batchelor Award. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2009)

Another nuanced capability of this partnership and agreement will have the 2011 ESPN telecast package include a two-hour documentary-style broadcast from the inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix in September - a race through the city’s inner harbor area streets - produced by Intersport’s Emmy-award winning production team (a recent honored production includes the 2009 Motor Press Guild's Dean Batchelor Award winning documentary - Keith Cossrow and Bennett Viseltear, "Truth in 24"). ALMS’ association with Intersport began in the 2010 season. Intersport previously produced two docudrama-style race broadcasts which told the story of the Series’ events at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and Mid-Ohio, and highlighted its many storylines and colorful personalities.

One can listen to Wednesday`s media call (where The EDJE asked questions related to social media and new media content broadcast sharing schemes) with executives from the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patron and Intersport, along with representative sponsor executives, team owners and drivers. A transcript is also available for reading.

The 2011 American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón will open at the 59th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring presented by Fresh from Florida on Saturday, March 19. Visit the American Le Mans Series’ online schedule for information on tickets and area accommodations.

ALMS race start at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca where the cars run for six hours, starting in the afternoon and ending to the flaring lights of fireworks launched over the track into the night-time sky at the bridge near the start/finish line. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2010)

American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón 2011 broadcast Schedule
(All TV times reflect the Eastern Time Zone)

Sebring
Friday, March 18 ESPN3.com Live Qualifying
Saturday, March 19 ESPN3.com 10:15 a.m.-11 p.m.
Sunday, March 20 ABC 12:30-2 p.m.

Long Beach
Friday, April 15 ESPN3.com Live Qualifying
Saturday, April 16 ESPN3.com Live Race Coverage
Sunday, April 17 ESPN2 5-7 p.m.

Lime Rock
Friday, July 8 ESPN3.com Live Qualifying
Saturday, July 9 ESPN3.com Live Race Coverage
Sunday, July 10 ESPN2 1-3 p.m.

Mosport
Saturday, July 23 ESPN3.com Live Qualifying
Sunday, July 24 ESPN3.com Live Race Coverage
Sunday, July 24 ESPN2 10 p.m.-12 a.m.

Mid-Ohio
Friday, August 5 ESPN3.com Live Qualifying
Saturday, August 6 ESPN3.com Live Race Coverage
Sunday, August 7 ESPN2 10 p.m.-12 a.m.

Baltimore
Friday, August 19 ESPN3.com Live Qualifying
Saturday, August 20 ESPN3.com Live Race Coverage
Sunday, August 21 ABC 4:30-6 p.m.

Baltimore
Friday, September 2 ESPN3.com Live Qualifying
Saturday, September 3 ESPN3.com Live Race Coverage
Sunday, September 11 ABC 4-6 p.m.

Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca
Friday, September 16 ESPN3.com Live Qualifying
Saturday, September 17 ESPN3.com Live Race Coverage
Sunday, September 18 ESPN2 1-3 p.m.

Road Atlanta
Friday, September 30 ESPN3.com Live Qualifying
Saturday, October 1 ESPN3.com Live Race Coverage
Sunday, October 2 ABC 4-6 p.m.

... notes from The EDJE

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