New Indy Racing League chief executive officer Randy Bernard has apparently gained a new ally, and it’s a powerful one — Texas Motor Speedway president and promoter extraordinaire Eddie Gossage.
Gossage writes for ESPNDallas.com’s Motorsports Blog and his latest entry talks about him having dinner with Bernard, the former leader of the Professional Bull Riders, and the conversation that ensued between the two. Considering that Bernard is taking the helm of the IRL when it’s facing plenty of problems to solve (including the 2012 chassis/engine project, and possibly losing a second team this offseason), a lot of people have been saying that he’s got to learn the ropes as fast as he can.
It appears that Bernard is doing exactly that, and Gossage took notice. Here’s an excerpt from the post:
“[Bernard] is a sponge. He barely said hello before launching into a series of questions. The IRL has some big decisions facing it with regards to chassis and engine agreements. He is trying to learn as much as he can about the sport, the people in the sport, the IRL staff and more. Quickly.”
Gossage goes on to call Bernard’s appointment to IRL CEO “a very good hire” and talks about Bernard’s abilities as a promoter. Although I think Gossage is stretching it when he says the IRL’s racing product is good — the new aero package helped, until Penske and Ganassi teams destroyed everyone at Homestead last October — I think he is spot-on with his belief that the league needs a solid promoter that can, in his words, “market the product to the mainstream and help build the names of its stars.”
But while Gossage’s endorsement instantly moves Bernard up in my book, I’m still worried about his lack of motorsports experience. You can only hope that he’s been getting all sorts of face time with the Indy legends, promoters like Gossage, and other important people in the sport — and using it wisely by asking them lots and lots of questions. What’s more, the IRL’s strange history is reason enough to adopt a stance of skepticism on almost any major development, including this one.
However, perhaps you, dear readers, are more optimistic than I am. Or maybe even more skeptical. Regardless, I reckon some of you would like to get in Bernard’s ear…metaphorically, of course.
There’s been a movement started by our buddy Bill Zahren (aka Pressdog) that asks fans of the sport to write to Bernard and give him their thoughts on the series and how he can improve it. I won’t write about this in detail like Pressdog and George Phillips over at Oil Pressure did, but I’ll leave the contact info here in case you’d like to suggest a few things to the former boss of bull riding:
Randy Bernard
CEO, Izod IndyCar Series
4790 W 16th Street
Indianapolis, IN 46222
All I ask is that you be civil about it.
Photo credit: Ron McQueeney/Indy Racing League
