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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Michael Andretti couldn’t help but laugh as he took questions.
”From what I understand about the initial proposal for a charter…”
Then I heard a guttural sound of laughter. For a moment, Andretti struggled to express his level of contempt. One of Penske Entertainment’s original proposals to implement a charter-like system in IndyCar was to give the current owner’s team more value, and to buy a temporary system for the team. It asked him to pay $1 million.
IndyCar’s 10-owner group quickly rejected the idea.
“It was funny,” Andretti told a small group of reporters Friday.
The pitch from series owners, Andretti explained, is that the charter money, which guarantees attendance at each race and consistent prize money, will be reinvested into the sport to elevate the series’ standing in the sports world. was.
“First of all, $20 million isn’t going to do anything,” Andretti said Friday. “We need at least five times that. And it’s like, ‘Don’t take our money, Roger. You bought a series. We don’t own that series.'”
As reporters noted of Penske’s difficult position, the highly successful billionaire businessman is heavily dependent on the revenue that the Indianapolis Motor Speedway generates from the Indy 500 and NASCAR’s annual attendance. has a racing series that is looking to revamp its image without spending a fortune. — Andretti said:
“Then sell the series,” Andretti said. “There are people out there who are willing to do it. I think there are a lot of people who sit on the sidelines and think, ‘If you do it right, this is a diamond in the rough.'” But it takes a lot of money to get to that level. Yes, and if he doesn’t want to do that, I think he should step back and let someone else buy it.
“I said to him, why don’t you sell part of the series to someone else and use that money as stock? You still retain control of it, but you take that money and invest it. Please, but he doesn’t want a partner.”
How IndyCar is growing after 24 years:“Roger Penske expects his grandchildren to own this.”
This sentiment is not entirely new. For the past few months, my personal conversations have centered around negative news. Negative news: Texas pulled off the schedule, a long-awaited video game stalled, the launch of a hybrid system delayed, and the much-hyped finale on the streets of Nashville moved 40 minutes to the Nashville Superspeedway. was the focus. Away.
Faced with impressive growth metrics from a year ago (TV ratings, merchandise sales, sponsor interest, attendance numbers, social media engagement, steady growth in general fan base), a significant number of paddock members are investing. Among the sports seeking series ownership to increase. Andretti was not the first to suggest that Penske should spend more than $100 million in the short term to become more competitive with NASCAR and F1.
In contrast, Mark Miles, president and CEO of Penske Entertainment, told reporters last week that the two other major U.S. racing series operate in a different stratosphere from a budget standpoint. He said he believes IndyCar is “suffering” by comparison.
In response to Andretti’s comments on Friday, Penske Entertainment provided the following exclusive statement to IndyStar: “Since the acquisition, we have made significant investments and are committed to supporting the sport of IndyCar in nearly every area. It has accelerated our momentum, and we will continue to invest rationally and strategically to grow the sport. ”
Last week, when he sat down with IndyStar to discuss Penske Entertainment’s successful growth in 2023 and how it plans to move forward in 2024, Miles said inside the paddock that Roger and his charges are I was asked about the widespread belief that people were not doing well.
“Maybe it’s an echo chamber? I don’t think six different analyzes suggest that,” he quipped. “We have sufficient resources and what we continue to try to do is build on growth and avoid epidemics that could cause an unsustainable growth surge.
“We are actively talking to other media platforms, studios, production companies, agencies, etc., looking for ideas and potential partners. This does not mean we will sell any shares, but we will There is no doubt that it will be. Come up with a big idea that has real potential and meet the criteria that I am talking about: being investable.”
Andretti acknowledged that concerns about the future of the sport have not reached apocalyptic levels, citing moves to pursue hybrid projects, conversations about charter systems and the sport’s next technical regulations.
Regarding the latter, Andretti was adamant that IndyCar adopt IMSA rules to create an opportunity for a growing list of manufacturers from America’s major sports car series to enter IndyCar with the same engines. This will require a complete redesign of the vehicle to achieve a chassis that is compatible with any IMSA engine, but allows manufacturers to tackle the looser power unit regulations in their own way, he said. explained.
Andretti said Penske Entertainment shouldn’t just keep looking for a third engine maker. You should be considering adding more than one at a time.
“We have to start thinking bigger,” he said Friday. “I truly believe that if we really want to make this series for the future, we need to build a rules package that makes sense. We need to attract more than three manufacturers. This is one way.”
But his other big concern revolves around what and how the series drives off-track, including how the post-race celebrations “look like going to an SCCA race.” ing.
“Like any series, you need a lot of money to make it worth the money. If you can give Roger something that makes sense, he seems happy to do it.” ” Andretti said. “We have the best series in the world that no one knows about yet, and all we need to do is put it out there so people know what it is.
“I think Roger needs to decide where he wants to go. Does he want this to be an Elite Series, a World Series where he can compete in front of the world, or does he want to keep it at the level he is at now?”
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