Ladies and gentlemen, the rules of the game have changed. Big time.
Today, the Indy Racing League announced that the IZOD IndyCar Series will have separate oval and road/street course champions in addition to the overall series titleholder. The three-title format (as well as the new oval championship) will begin with Saturday’s Road Runner Turbo Indy 300 at Kansas Speedway (1:30 p.m. ET, ABC).
The season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Oct. 2 will be kept to determine the overall series champion, meaning that the oval title will be decided on Sept. 19 at Twin Ring Motegi in Japan. The road/street title will be given out at the Aug. 22 event at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California. The oval and road/street champs will both receive their own trophy and special bonuses, with the purse to be announced at a later date.
In a release put out by the league, chief executive officer Randy Bernard said that the key to this format’s genesis was what he saw as a need to differentiate the IZOD IndyCar Series from other motorsports leagues.
“After my first six weeks [as league CEO], I kept saying to myself, “We need to be able to deliver a consistent message about our sport that separates us from other forms of auto racing,'” said Bernard. “What hit me is that we have the fastest and most versatile drivers and race cars in the world — and no one can deny that — and now we have to show why we’re the fastest and most versatile. We have 17 events, but how do we create better storylines?
“I think there are two different demographics. I’d be willing to bet you that the oval demographic is more like a NASCAR audience opposed to a street/road course demographic that is considerably different. How do we attract both of these, how do we bring them together and how do we create storylines that allow for a great ending to our season?”
Bernard also said in the release that he wanted to see an “evenly balanced” blend of ovals and road/street events in future IndyCar schedules.
“When I did my due diligence prior to taking the job, I asked team owners how many events they would like,” he explained. “Most said between 16 and 20 events and we’re right there. We want to build it smartly and slowly.”
The oval and road/street title trophies will be named after open-wheel racing legends. After media representatives nominate who they feel were the best ever at both disciplines, the top-five nominees from each discipline will be part of an IndyCar.com fan vote from late May to early June. The oval honoree will be revealed during the IndyCar weekend at Texas Motor Speedway in June, while the road/street honoree shall be announced at Watkins Glen International (the 4th of July weekend).
You can check out more of Bernard’s thoughts on instituting the bold three-title format in an interview he did with Randy Covitz of The Kansas City Star. Take note of the CEO’s beliefs about tapping separate demographics with these new secondary titles, as well as expanding the scope of the series beyond the Indianapolis 500. It’s a relatively short but insightful read on the matter.
