'08 Payoff Structure Gets Big Boost

[indycool]

http://www.indycar.com/news/story.php?story_id=10010

[indycool]

So does the "500".....

http://www.brickyard.com/news/story.php?story_id=10009

[enemy-ace]

Curious. How is the amount of purse money decided on. Is it gate attendance and sponsor money or is it just decided by the track owner. I see that the Daytona 500 purse is something like $18 million. I would have thought that the Indy 500's would be of similiar size.

[indycool]

enemy-ace, the "500" used to clearly have the biggest purse in racing but Daytona surpassed it a few years ago.

The race purse for any series is incorporated into the sanction fee and negotiated between the sanctioning body and the promoter. The promoter doesn't just pay the teams outright. He just writes the agreed-upon check to the sanctioning body, which pays the teams the purse as set forth in the entry blank for the race.

[climb]

Well, it will be interesting to see in the coming motnhs the impact on series' apeal; from IRL example, comparing the 2007 result with the 2008 basis, the smaller teams should get the best improvement.

Let's wait and see if new teams come like it happened in IPS this year.
Much could still depend on CC's future of course..

[D.R.T.]

Robin Millers take

http://www.speedtv.com/commentary/40740/

“The IRL has always paid good prize money, so I don’t know that this new deal is hugely different,” said Coyne, referring to the fact the IRL is doing away with regular race purses except for Indy. “It might be a little more even distribution to help the smaller teams, and I think the IRL is making good PR hay out of it but, for me, it doesn’t tip the scale at all. It’s more expensive to run in the IRL and a team like ours has no chance to run up front.”

“We used to get $12 million from Bernie (Ecclestone) in television money and that’s what we’ve got to do in North America, figure out a way to get that kind of support,” said Stoddart from his London home. “I know until we have a united series that maybe it’s hard to keep people interested, and our TV ratings are suffering, but the bang for the buck you get in Champ Car is unprecedented in terms of coverage for a sponsor for what they have to pay.”

“I’ll be interested when our schedule comes out if we have an opening in May because that could be a possibility,” said Bachelart, who has competed at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as a driver and owner.

“Running Indy is our best chance to find a sponsor.”

[stradlin21]

don't you just love Miller, the old comedian

i think it's time he got his pipe and slippers and faded away

his comments are hardly suprising, he hates the IRL and this gets in the way of anything valuble he might say

[D.R.T.]

Originally Posted by stradlin21

don't you just love Miller, the old comedian

i think it's time he got his pipe and slippers and faded away

his comments are hardly suprising, he hates the IRL and this gets in the way of anything valuble he might say

Does that mean your bias gets in the way of anything valuable you could have to say.

I find it amusing how if Miller says something negative about Champcar, you guys are on the bandwagon. Something negative about the IRL, he's a hater not worthy of comment.

Indycool, I dont think Mr Stoddart is thinking he will get 12 million per team in tv money. He is saying there needs to be ways to get money flowing into teams. The 12 million is an example. Stoddart is one of the more realists along pit lane, pity that was lost on you.

The article was quite a good one from Miller (putting all this ridiculous agendas aside). ChampCar needs to get the 500 available to there teams. Make that available and sponsor finding would be so much easier.

[indycool]

Stoddart said "we have to figure out a way to get that kind of support." There is NOT a way in the foreseeable future for EITHER series or a COMBINED series and probably beyond to get $12 million in TV money per team.

Yes, competing in the "500" would help CC teams get a focus for potential sponsors.

I'm not sure Coyne's right about the IRL being more expensive but Dale should know more than us Internet jockeys. But, unless I've already got a better deal from The Amigos, if I'm Coyne, I ask them for $1.2 million per car to start with for '08.

[stradlin21]

Originally Posted by indycool

Stoddart said "we have to figure out a way to get that kind of support." There is NOT a way in the foreseeable future for EITHER series or a COMBINED series and probably beyond to get $12 million in TV money per team.

Yes, competing in the "500" would help CC teams get a focus for potential sponsors.

I'm not sure Coyne's right about the IRL being more expensive but Dale should know more than us Internet jockeys. But, unless I've already got a better deal from The Amigos, if I'm Coyne, I ask them for $1.2 million per car to start with for '08.

Of course it's cheaper for Coyne to run in Champ Car but it's widely believed that Kalkhoven is paying for Legge to run in one of his cars

[indycool]

Not really, mountainstar. $900,000 per car plus $300,000 for Indy alone for series regulars. Plus the Indy purse also goes up. Without counting things twice and whatever, it figures to me to be about $10 million more to the teams when all's said and done.

Again, it's not unlike NASCAR's Winner's Circle program, which, I think, is up to $5 million a car now. It's not structured as revenue-sharing or ownership, but payoff itself is similar to CART's old franchise system.

stradlin, you're probably right because Legge was under contract to KK. I don't know what CC teams might be dealt in equipment or cash from CC -- perhaps it's already, for some, more than $1.2 million -- but that'd be my starting point, business-wise, if it was more than I was getting.

[climb]

ditto stradlin

[indycool]

If Stoddart thinks that, as a team, he's going to get $12 million in TV money from CC anytime soon, I have some wonderful oceanfront property in Nebraska that I'd part with for a price.

[mountainstar]

Really the whole scheme is bait and switch. All they did was take all the prize money for the year sans the indy race, dump it into a pot and hand it out evenly to all the teams. Wow. exciting.

Wonder where drivers stand in this. Do they still get their 40% cut? No wonder hornish, francheeki and the rest are bailing to nascar.

I think this program is going to have all the excitement of the CART esp program in 2003, in other words, no excitement, no interest from anyone.

Obviously prize money is just a bonus to the overall cost of going motor racing, but cutting it isn't going to add any value or interest and only is a negative.

[stradlin21]

Legge is still under contract to KK

[JohnSSC]

I believe in the same article Miller noted that Bourdais has made $611,000 in total prize money in CC, not counting the $500K he will get for winning the series. In comparison, it (the IRL's program) still is more than the average CC team stands to gain.

According to the details posted by Miller, that is less than even the least successful IRL teams. It is a model, by the way of one of the cornerstones that helped build NASCAR. As IC pointed out, the teams get a good bit of revenue sharing from NASCAR. This ensures a full grid and and a competitive grid. No, there aren't any Dave Marcis types out there any longer but the quality of the cars is much better up and down the paddock.

[D.R.T.]

[QUOTE=JohnSSC]I believe in the same article Miller noted that Bourdais has made $611,000 in total prize money in CC, not counting the $500K he will get for winning the series. In comparison, it (the IRL's program) still is more than the average CC team stands to gain.[QUOTE]

But if its cheaper to run ChampCar than there is the advantage. I wouldnt be surprised if ChampCar creates a new prize money/ revenue distribution at the year end.

Just in the same mould as the IPS did after the Atlantic $2 million prize. These guys have been copying each other back and forth over the years, why stop now.

[JohnSSC]

If is a big word, D.R.T. We do not know the true cost there, but the bottom line is that there will be more $$ available to the average IRL team than was available previously to the average IRL team.

[D.R.T.]

Originally Posted by JohnSSC

If is a big word, D.R.T. We do not know the true cost there, but the bottom line is that there will be more $$ available to the average IRL team than was available previously to the average IRL team.

You have a team owner who says its cheaper to run ChampCar, so I dont think the if is needed.

[indycool]

Earlier, I said Dale, as a car owner, would probably know. But I don't know that he knows the particulars and/or has costed out running IRL vs. what he might be getting. I don't know if he's getting greased real good from The Amigos right now. I don't know if he factors in the additional sponsorship interest there would be in running the Indianapolis 500, additional interest opportunities to take in revenue.

As far as drivers getting their 40 percent, I doubt if very many of the IRL drivers (or any others any more) are on that kind of deal. After CART did its franchise deal in the mid-'80s and screwed the drivers out of their percentage of an announced piece of what was called the purse, the next year, Mario Andretti and Al Unser Jr., became the first drivers in the series to get $1 million retainers. Most fulltimers have that type of deal now, and have had for a long time.

[stradlin21]

And earlier I said it's going to be cheaper for Coyne to run in Champ Car because Kevin Kalkhoven is paying the wages of one of his drivers!

And I bet KK's contributions to that team, and others, don't stop there

What the IRL is trying to do here is positive, it's going to help some of the smaller teams improve their operation

That can only be a good thing...

[D.R.T.]

Originally Posted by stradlin21

And I bet KK's contributions to that team, and others, don't stop there

Any source for that Stradlin.

As I know how upset you get when people make references to series owners paying for others cars to make a number (whether that be 17 or 33) with out proper and conclusive evidence

[Hazza]

At least there are sponsors on IRL cars at all.

[drdisque]

Champ Car probably is cheaper. It would have to be since it presents less value to a sponsor due to its lower ratings and it pays worse. If it didn't cost less to run there, nobody would.

I don't think KK is specifically injecting money into certain teams, I think his assistance mainly comes in the form of reduced cost engine leases and the "Panoz Lease" they financed at the beginning of the season.

As per the IRL's new purse structure. I'm fairly certain that it will be the decision maker for a 2nd Foyt car and will get Beck to run full-time. Beck has REALLY good people with his team and I feel that if they can run a full season they can be solidly mid-pack.