17 November 2009

Winds of Change Continuing to Blow at IMS?

Already the Indianapolis Motor Speedway has made some major changes since the announcement of the IZOD IndyCar Series sponsorship agreement.  For many, it was the most public that IMS President Jeff Belskus has been since taking over control of IMS over the summer.

In the last couple weeks, Belskus has been trimming the fat from IMS, including IMS Director of Public Relations Ron Green (which, as a sports information director, saddens me to see him go).  Now, the Indianapolis Business Journal's Anthony Schoettle is speculating on Belskus' next round of cuts/adjustments not only for IMS, but for the IZOD IndyCar Series.

Among Schoettle's hypothesis as to what may be coming are:
  • An end to the TEAM program (which IZOD already said it was contributing to, so I don't see it going away, unless IZOD solely funds the program).
  • Adding more street/road courses near or in cities (Baltimore is a rumored destination for 2011) to bring in more money.  Schoettle theorizes that this could mean more ovals are cut from the schedule.
  • A reduction in the amount of time spent at IMS during May.
Interesting stuff from Schoettle, as usual.  You can read the full article here.

3 comments:

  1. I don't mean to be one of those guys who are always quitting the IRL. And some of the cuts--team subsidies, cutting the month of May to the two or three weeks of May--are actually understandable. But if they go any less on than 50% ovals, especially in favor of those horrid street courses, that'd be it for this long-time Indy fan. That article was a total drag after all the excitment and hope brought about by the Izod sponsorship.

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  2. Scary, but not surprising in the least.

    This sport is in MAJOR trouble. And having Jeff Belskus running the show, will not help it.

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  3. This article does not backup any of its claims. It demonstrates generally poor journalism and is completely irrelevant to me

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