Miller speedtv.com commentary

[indycool]

Agree with Snrub that this should be its own thread.

http://www.speedtv.com/commentary/35621/?page=1

Although I agree that Johnson is SCCAish in the goings-on, I hafta believe that he's no more at fault than the Eidswicks, Heitzlers, Craigs, Stokkans and the like of the past who had little control over what was going on, i.e., we're seeing more of the same.

Ansan was on the schedule for three years running and not canceled until late in the season all three times. That all happened before Johnson was there. IMO, Johnson isn't going to change this and has no responsibility or power to change this oddball way of covering up and announcing things. Those decisions are being made well above him.

Are Zolder and Zhuhai moving? Will Phoenix happen if Vegas costs the wad of money that it looks like it's going to? Will Dijon be added.

The fact Johnson is explaining mealy-mouthed at CW about matters and how much time he spends in the office says the RM column changed nothing.

[Leighton Irwin]

I have no faith in anyone with a SCCA background as far as pro racing is concerned. SCCA has screwed up every pro series they have tried to run going back the the Can-Am, F5000, FB/FA and original Trans Am. There is something about the SCCA mindset that does not seem to ba able to adapt to Pro racing.

[Fogelhund]

I apologize for extensive quoting here. These are posts from another forum, and I thought they would be interesting in this discussion.

We are planning on several announcements during our spring training event in Laguna. This is not by accident but by plan. Right now the world is reacting to NASCAR and we want to let it settle down after Daytona and California so we can get maximum exposure to our organization and series.
You will see driver announcements, venue announcements and sponsor announcements!
As far as where I live, who cares! I am on the road everyday and the fact should have said I am only home 4 days a month. I am in Indy far more than 4 days per month.
We are slow on driver announcements and we are working with the teams to get them finalized. At the end of the day we will be far better than previous years with a clear path to success.
Steve Johnson

The marketing is handled in house. Our sales are being done by Next Marketing and have just started. We have not had a good sales process nor good results in the last several years. We had two choices, 1) continue the same direction and hope for different results or 2) change the entire system and process. I chose to change the system and expect to see results soon. The sales process takes time. We will have some wins this year but more importantly we are positioned well for a very strong 08.
Our biggest opportunity in marketing will occur when the ESPN programs begin. We will have a presence on sports center, espn.com, espn the magazine, espn news, espn ticker and even espn radio updates. That coupled with our in house marketing efforts and our sponsors activation plans will give us a much better platform with far greater reach than we have had in years.
Thanks for your continued support of the CCWS.
Steve Johnson

Keep in mind we are entering 2007 with a new car, 6 new venues, two new race teams with Minardi and PCM, and the best television we have had and may ever have. This did not happen by accident. Some dont like to see it but we are making good progress.
We can not live in the past because it will kill us. As we continue to move forward the pain for some may be too much to handle. We will make mistakes and take a step back every once and a while. That happens when you are in a turn around situation.
Our focus on the marketing side will be built around our tv partner who has far more power to build our brand than we do, as well as build stars out of our drivers. For those that come to the events, you will see a better show and an enhanced experience while at the event. We will provide the best entertainment value in racing today!
Keep the faith we are on the right track.
Steve Johnson

I'm not certain what to say at this point. The most ravid fans are concerned, and wondering why the silence, and what is going on.

If these people are concerned, is it safe to assume that other interested parties, sponsors, promotoers etc have similar thoughts?

While it is nice of Mr. Johnson to post on a forum about CCWS, in the grand scheme of things, this is still silence to the outside world. I still maintain that we'll have to wait to see where things are going, as we really don't have those answers yet. The money has been spent on the DP01's, so the show will go on this year. I'm not sure what to say after that though.

[indycool]

Where he posted those is also telltale.....CW.

I'd like to know the difference he finds in marketing and sales. If sales for '07 hadn't started until the Next Marketing deal was announced a month or so ago, that's a missed shot for '07.

But, the KK/GF designated fall guy hath spoke.

[JohnSSC]

I agree with Leighton re: SCCA and any pro series. IMSA literally blew them away in the late 70's/early 80's. I wish I could remember the gentleman that ran IMSA then (Bishop?). Any portrayal of an office being "SCCA-like" sends shivers down my spine.

As far as what Johnson posted in Forum World, I have been reading the same cheery, optimistic, laying the groundwork this season and watch out next season kind of statements for years now. Everyone goes on about timing this and NASCAR has the stage now that but the bottom line is there is never any sizzle to the steak.

Just when will the time be "right?" In a few weeks the guys who were suspended by NASCAR will be back and TV will be covering them like crazy and of course that will coincide with the season opener. All the brave talk of having to limit the series to 24 cars was a classic in the "king has no clothes" idiom. KK and GF talked as if they were lined up around the block at CC world HQ. It seems apparent now that they were trying to incite the formation of a line.

Same with marketing. It has taken them how long to figure out that there just might be a tiny problem with it. Then they wait until the new season is upon us and tell us that the wonderful changes put in place won't really pay off until 2008. The only thing that changes here is the people making the statements and the particular year targeted for Rapture.

Good grief! If you have good news release it!

[racinthestreets]

It is frustrating. Remember it is their millions. They have targeted Laguna for a while now. We can all wait a couple more weeks. Damn I sure wish I was going to be at Laguna Seca. I will be near there, but two weeks later as I work my way to Las Vegas. It is a bit overcast and gloomy in the CC paddock, but I for one believe that something is a brewing. However, it is simply my belief in the KK design - nothing more. IC, John SSC, Fogelhund, Muzza and some of you other long time Veterans pose very good and clear questions about the direction that KK has chosen. I said that it is possible that KK has entered an arena that he cannot work his magic - but, I believe that he would have cut his loses before now and ran. 2007 is the targeted year since they bought the bankrupt product. It is here, there are serious issues with teams, sponsors, drivers, etc... - But they do have the TV package that should help them get the exposure, hence sponsors that they are shooting for. If 2007 only leads to a better 2008 and so on so forth it is only a good thing. Two more weeks to Laguna - because of no other choice, guess I will wait and see! Viva Las Vegas.

[jv#12]

I am going to be at Laguna Seca and will definatly report what i see. i will only be up there the 9th and 10th. depending on connection speeds i will try to post something every evening. hopefuly RM will be proven wrong.

[Fogelhund]

Mark C is reporting that the article linked to here, resulted in RM being fired by CCWS.

It will be interesting to see what Robin Miller has to say next...... Somehow I doubt it will be even as nice as this piece was.

[mountainstar]

So robin miller is now the messiah?

Right.

Mr Gagnon has some comments about miller that echo my opinion:
http://overheardatthetrack.blogspot.com/

JohnSSC regarding Mr Johnson: Do you expect him to do a robin miller and post public comments trashing champcar? Your reasoning makes no sense. I think he is quite aware of certain issues and stated he is trying to rectify those problems. If Mr Johnson has a negative viewpoint regarding the viability of the series, then I would certainly question his ability as a CEO.

indycool regarding crapwagon: The fans on CW(otherwise known as champcarfanatics) are the most loyal. I would expect of any place to post public comments regarding champcar that would be the place. What's the big deal?

Does champcar have some problems? Yes, I think so. But no less than other racing series that have some of the same issues(ahem...). I'm not convinced because robin said so, it's over.

Do we need more Americans in the series? I believe so. We need our own to cheer on. It's great to have a british lady and a swiss guy and so on, but we need Americans in the series we can turn into stars that people want to follow.

Does there need to be a better approach to marketing? I believe so. For instance, the website needs work and a fresh design. It was fine years ago, but has gradually gotten cluttered and out of date.

Problems in the front office? Perhaps. I know people that have worked for CART and champcar in the past and the front office has always seemed to be a mess and a source of many problems. This issue goes back over a decade. Perhaps one solution would be to can the indy office and start somewhere anew.

Losing Ford a blow? We shall see. Mostly the Ford deal was a glorified ride and drive marketing program with tv advertising thrown in. If champcar has another car company lined up then great, otherwise stupid to let ford go.

So a few bad points. And I know this champcar forum on ten-tenths has turned into the bash champcar forum. But let's look at some positives for a minute which i know will disappoint those who wish the death of champcar, but so be it.

New car: Much needed for sure. I love the look of the new car and i think it will improve the racing and the cost of doing business in champcar. Yes the new car had some teething problems, but I don't know of any racing car that hasn't.

New tv deal: Speed tv has changed it's demographic away from the sporty car people to the trashy pinks/nascar crowd. Like KK said we were only a speed bump in their programming. I think being with ESPN is great. The coverage and reach of espn/abc is far greater than that of speed/fox, no question. This new deal is going to be a great help.

New races: LV and Phoenix for instance are a boost. The population in the USA has shifted to the southwest over 20-30 years and getting our feet into these markets is fantastic. I would like to see Denver back among other places and hopefully in the next two years the schedule will stabilize.

We have a lot of great drivers and I think next year, while a year of change, is going to be a good one. Atlantics are also shaping up for a great year.

[Purist]

We'll get his view full force when he's on Wind Tunnel along with Ed Hinton (spelling) this Sunday (March 4th).

[Fogelhund]

Originally Posted by mountainstar

And I know this champcar forum on ten-tenths has turned into the bash champcar forum.

It seems that even CCF is a bash Champcar forum at the moment.

New car: Much needed for sure. I love the look of the new car and i think it will improve the racing and the cost of doing business in champcar. Yes the new car had some teething problems, but I don't know of any racing car that hasn't.

Yes, the new car looks great, and was much needed. I'm not so certain it will improve the racing any though. Much of the problem is that street race tracks are very difficult to pass on, with any vehicle. The current financial reality of Champcars is such, that any cost savings won't be of great benefit for a few years, and I'm just not convinced we won't reach a critical point before then. Besides "IF" a season costs $5 mil per car now, would a savings of a mil per car really make any real difference? I'm not so certain.

New tv deal: Speed tv has changed it's demographic away from the sporty car people to the trashy pinks/nascar crowd. Like KK said we were only a speed bump in their programming. I think being with ESPN is great.

I think being with ESPN sucks. There goes the Canadian fanbase. Apparently CCWS knew ESPN wasn't available to Canadians, and still haven't come to a deal to provide viewing for us Canadians.

New races: LV and Phoenix for instance are a boost. The population in the USA has shifted to the southwest over 20-30 years and getting our feet into these markets is fantastic. I would like to see Denver back among other places and hopefully in the next two years the schedule will stabilize.

We have a lot of great drivers and I think next year, while a year of change, is going to be a good one. Atlantics are also shaping up for a great year.

I don't really know what to say about this. I'm not certain how stable any of the three races mentioned are, nor the China, nor the European races. Yes, there are some good drivers, and maybe even a great one, or two...

I'm sorry if you see this as a Champcar bashing forum. There are indeed those who are IRL supporters, but I think most of the rest are disappointed Champcar fans. At one point CART was my favoured series out of all racing. From where I sit, things just seem to go from bad to worse. What is happening now, is simply a mockery of what once was a great Open Wheel base in North America. Really, at this point I hope that a merger occurs by whatever means.

We are within a month of having a pretty good idea of where we stand in all of this. What "several" announcements that are planned for Laguna will tell us a great deal I think. From there, the number of cars, sponsors will tell us a great deal. Then in May, all the typical merger talks will happen again... hopefully this time they get it right.

[Purist]

Fogel, I think we know that a merger isn't that likely to happen.

That being the case, what would you do if you were in CART management? I mean, the fans haven't been showing up in large enough numbers at the ovals (attendance at a number of the IRL oval races isn't great either). There are only so many road courses in the country that are "acceptable" for CCs to run on (Sebring, VIR and Road Atlanta considered unsafe), and thus there are large parts of the country not covered (far Northwest, the East Coast and the Midwest/Heartland). And you really can only use those that don't overlap markets. Laguna was messed up by CART's scheduling, and that one was a mistake to replace with San Jose. Mid-Ohio, however, came into annual use slightly after Cleveland, and Cleveland was showing more promise when Mid-Ohio was dropped. Watkins Glen and Mexico City were gone before any of this was an issue, and WGI is under ISC now. So, with all this in mind, and the real chances of a merger being slim if any, what would be your move?

[Alwaysfirst]

If they really want a merger then no problem is too big. As they quite clearly don't then the tinist little thing will trip it all up again & I still see there being every chance that it will just brovide both series with a long, slow & painful decline.
Half of the IRL grid seems to be filled up by slightly mediocre drivers, even if they are paid for by TG.
In CCWS the mediocre drivers are sturggling to find anywhere to go...not because the series is so popular but that there just aren't the seats, even with a reasonable amount of money. In a couple of months we have gone from discussing ways of getting more than 24 cars onto the grid to now talking about how GF & KK will have to throw their money about again just to get a medium sized grid. I just think that while both series have good points both are utterly rubbish compared to what they could oh so easily be.

[JohnSSC]

Thanks, racinthestreets, appreciate your comment!

I often wonder, though, after reading responses to my posts by some folks where in the heck they are coming from. I did not say or imply that Johnson should "trash" CC. What I said was that I think it is pointless to keep the good news tucked away safely for a release at some future date. CC needs all the positive ink it can get - period.

Further, what I said was that by all of this ridiculous hinting around about potential this and that, the statements themselves become nothing more but rehashes of the same statements that have been released over and over again these last few years - particularly since the bankruptcy. As the late, lamented, Clara Peller once said in the Wendy's commercial: "Where's the beef?"

As a side note, I would be real careful when painting the NASCAR crowd as "trashy." Shades of Chris Pook with his "uber demographic" statements. Generalizing all NASCAR fans as goobers is just plain wrong...but I digress.

Open Wheel racing at what used to be the top level is in some serious crap across the board. Whatever your opinion of Miller (and to me he is not "the Messiah") his opinions are well-sourced enough to at least provide a basis for discussion - an honest one - which is what is desperately needed right now.

[indycool]

IMO, if AR1's rumor that RM has been fired by CC is correct, that decision would've been made a long time ago, when the deal was made with ABC/ESPN. RM has already been in and out of espn.com, Oreo's there now and CC has no tie with SPEED any more.

It's interesting what RM has to say when he doesn't have a conflict of interest.

Mountainstar, would you ever suggest to a potential sponsor to go to CW and say, "look at all the loyal fans we have?" With all the F-lists and such? IMO, easiest way to scare 'em away.

[Fogelhund]

Purist - My point above regarding street races wasn't necessarily to suggest that street races should be scrapped, as much as a response that the cars won't make for better racing at these facilities. Having said that, I suppose you are correct in pointing out that I'd probably prefer real, natural terrain road courses, but I don't think that would be a life line for Champcars.

As far as what would I do? I'd find a way to merge.
It has been six years tnow, that the "market forces" have told us that this is not a viable business. I can appreciate that businesses have one bad year, sometimes a couple in a row, but after six years, really enough is enough.

The problem is simply relevancy, and a lack of it. The series needs drivers (and to some extent sponsors), that the public can relate to, and want to cheer for. The drivers need to be consistent (more Americans obviously), and believed to be high quality. One non-American driver dominating, with few drivers/teams capable of challenging is not a compelling saleable series. This series has not had an American Champion since 1996. That isn't to say there can't be foreign drivers, or champions, but there has been too many.

If I had a mulligan, I would have tried to save things in two years, and spent the wad in that time to fix things, hire name (American) drivers, buy a good TV package (too many changes in the TV, shown at weird times)....

At this point, I am fairly convinced that this group of people are not going to get this done, and are losing interest. Forsythe threatening to go to one car, because he is tiring of spending the money isn't exactly a battle cry is it? A merger is a requirement at this point, and without it, I strongly believe that this will continue to spiral downward.

Really, how much more pathetic can things get? Just over a month out, and a majority of the teams are accepting bids from funded drivers, to see who they can get the most money from. Meanwhile, some of the more talented people are going home to watch. When the biggest diehard fans, such as at CCF are tiring of this, well think about that. The current direction is not a solution, either the owners find other custodians, or do the right thing and broker a merger solution. Allowing this portion/form of Open Wheel to continue to erode at all levels is a disservice to Open Wheel.

My real solution; Take four or five of the best Champcar events, merge them with the IRL races, and you have a decent schedule. Add in whatever teams can be self-funding, and utilize the subsidy funds to promote Open Wheel in North America. Otherwise, you are just wasting money/efforts.

[indycool]

Well said, Fogel.....

[D.R.T.]

Originally Posted by indycool

It's interesting what RM has to say when he doesn't have a conflict of interest.

Miller has been speaking his mind for years, on CC and IRL. This is more a reflection of the situation than it is his job status.

Originally Posted by Fogelhund

At this point, I am fairly convinced that this group of people are not going to get this done, and are losing interest.

Read the same in Millers article (the losing interest bit), but I dont buy it. If KK and GF were losing interest they would be more receptive to a merger and start talks with TG. If you are losing interest, why sit buy still funding a championship untill you have nothing ?

Originally Posted by Fogelhund

My real solution; Take four or five of the best Champcar events, merge them with the IRL races, and you have a decent schedule.

I agree with a merger, as I am sure all here do. However with both series both going nowhere at present, surely you would take the strongest events from both series to a merged championship not preselecting a certain number from either, you would take the strongest teams, drivers, all sponsors to ensure the best hope for the future.

[indycool]

D.R.T., it was RM's tirades against TG and the IRL while he was on CC's payroll that contributed to his departures from the Indianapolis Star and ESPN.com.

If Forsythe wasn't losing interest, why is he going with one car? Why has KK sent Pettit to take over Russo's team and gotten Stoddart involved?

Sure, one series would be better, with the best events OVERALL WITH FINANCIAL STABILITY without regard to the series they came from, all the competitors who can financially do it and all the sponsors who want to play.

[Snrub]

Just because Steve Johnson says that he's storing up all of the annoucements doesn't make it so. Read the public statements by any executive of a large company, they all say the same meaningless BS, particularly if the company is in trouble. He says exactly what one would expect him to say. To me having a constant stream of announcements makes more sense than one big annoucement. Guess what, it's Nascar season in 5, 10 and 100 weeks from now. They didn't wait to hold off announcing the Visa title sponsorship of the Las Vegas race (and then it fell apart) or Red Bull sponsoring Jani @ PKV. It's pretty obvious what their real strategy is.

Miller has gotten a bad rap from those who've said he was anti-IRL. I really think he had mostly reasonable issues with the series, but some of that was tainted by previous faults that he couldn't get over. Even when writing articles on CC's website he included stuff that did NOT coincide with the company line. The point is that good articles should be contriversal.

Unfortunately CC HAD a star US driver and let him go. They may not have been able to stop him, but they didn't try everything in their power. AJ should have been offered parity to PT's pay because he was going to be the draw, the Andretti or Unser for the future. If Graham Rahal pans out well, hopefully they won't make the same mistake with him.

[Leighton Irwin]

I think the vast majority of fans would like to see a merger. The general public hasn't got a clue about the 2 series and are, if anything, confused as to who is who. I feel a merger must happen if, and that is a big if, open wheel racing at the big league level is going to survive.
Open wheel racing at some level will continue but it might just be USAC., WoO and so forth.
That said there will be no merger until the money behind both series demand it. The major problem seems to be centred around a certain party who dreams of being the Bill France of open wheel racing. I may be wrong but that is my thought.
If Honda, for any reason, decides to pull the plug that might just force the issue. Of course, then the IRL engines could be re-badged as Dodge since Daimler owned Ilmor builds them, assuming Daimler doesn't sell Chrysler.
Confused? I am!

[Fogelhund]

Daimler doesn't own Ilmor Engineering. Penske does.

[D.R.T.]

Originally Posted by indycool

D.R.T., it was RM's tirades against TG and the IRL while he was on CC's payroll that contributed to his departures from the Indianapolis Star and ESPN.com.

Just for clarification, how long has RM worked for ChampCar?

Tirades? Miller has refreshing approach to call things how he sees it, (much different to say the Gordon Kirby's). The example you have provided shows that Miller will write what he believes regardless of the consequences.

Originally Posted by indycool

If Forsythe wasn't losing interest, why is he going with one car? Why has KK sent Pettit to take over Russo's team and gotten Stoddart involved?

Forsythe going to one car, maybe to entice others to step up. Petitt saved Rusport which is a very competitive team and important to CC. To me isnt the actions of people losing interest in a series.

How is getting Stoddart involved seen as losing interest ? You have got a owner with strong connections Meurmans and European drivers. Why wouldnt you want him to be involved.

[JohnSSC]

GF going to one car is not going to encourage anyone to step up. He is a series co-owner, has no sponsor except for himself and is now going to a one-car team in what was supposed to be the breakout season. I remember post here after the "24 car limit" announcement where some speculated GF would be running as many as 3 cars.

If the series owner is scaling back, why would anyone step up? This would be what is known as a "red flag." I would liken it to a business owner shedding the stock he/she had accumulated in their company. One would have to wonder: "Why is this happening? Why are they not staying as involved as they were? Why are they not as financially committed as they were?"

Stoddart, imho, is simply riding a deal he came across. I do not think he is heavily invested personally in his team. If they had given him money to run karts, he would have done that. You will also note that GF's decison to go to one car came after PS came on board.

[D.R.T.]

Originally Posted by JohnSSC

Stoddart, imho, is simply riding a deal he came across. I do not think he is heavily invested personally in his team. If they had given him money to run karts, he would have done that.

Could be, could not but I do enjoy your insight

Originally Posted by JohnSSC

You will also note that GF's decison to go to one car came after PS came on board.

Sharing the load ?