Indiana Open Wheel - View Single Post - Hamilton Named USAC Executive Director

fish (Offline)
#63 3/15/15 3:13 PM

Originally Posted by Revolution Racing:
The senior management and the board all have very big smiles on their faces right now. It took me avery long time to understand this - and some reading this may never grasp it - but we all need to take a giant step back from the day to day racing issues and look at the big picture. The closer you are to the racing (drivers, owners, builders), the more important this is.

Those of us whose passion in life centers around racing naturally gravitate toward that passion. So we naturally assume that the issues at hand have to do with how to put on better races, more races, better purses, etc. We assume that these are the issues that somehow need to be improved upon so that the sport can progress, and you are right as far as it goes. But take that step back and ask, why, after decades of trying, have we not made much progress in these areas? Why have we actually LOST ground to some groups that would seem to be less well funded, less well organized?

The board and senior management look upon these discussions and smile because they know that they can depend on all of us racers to stay so focused on those issues directly connected to the racing we love, that we won't take time to take a step back, and look at the systemic factors that are preventing any progress.

One would think that, armed with a recruit from senior management at a major auto manufacturer, and subsequently with sponsorship from another major auto manufacturer, the organization would be positioned to make significant progress on market share and penetration issues. Actually, over the past couple decades, several such 'foot in the door' opportunities have come and gone - none of which ever were fully capitalized upon. And all the while, we all sat around talking about things like tires, purses, and racing surfaces. Meanwhile, a culture was developing at the top, one that recognized that there was not sufficient oversight of upper management, and zero oversight at the board room. As a result, we have an organization that has reached the point where the actual racing is viewed as mostly a necessary evil - something that must be done in order to keep the revenue coming.

Now don't get me wrong - I don't believe this approach was a conscious decision - it was the result of years of stagnant results in the aftermath of the down fall of USAC's glory years. Put yourself in Johnny Capels' shoes, for example. There was a guy that grew up in a culture where everything USAC touched turned to gold. Several factors, some tragic, changed all that in a relatively short time. So what would anybody in that position do? You take a look around at what your remaining assets are, and you attempt to stay alive by trading on those assets. USAC has been trading on their golden past - to one degree or another - ever since. And as that past fades, they are finding that they are getting less and less in return for that warm and fuzzy memory of what they were. So much so, that these days they barely have enough coming in to pay themselves the rather impressive salaries they are accustomed to. This explains why in recent years there has been a focus away from the core, open wheel racing. Management is open to associating with ANY activity - R/C racing has even been discussed - that can generate revenue. KM described this mentality as one of USAC evolving into more of an entertainment business. Sounds great, but what has happened to our focus on open wheel racing. In the case of Midget racing - my passion - I can tell you the results have not been outstanding.

And all the while, those of us who love the sport spend our time arguing over tire compounds. If those of us who love the sport would shift our focus to the effective management of the organization, if we would demand responsible usage of the revenues they manage in our names and insist that a focus was instituted that concentrates on our core values of open wheel racing, I believe we do have sufficient talent and energy within USAC management to accomplish those goals. but as long as the membership prefers to argue down at the level of pavement vs. dirt instead of looking at the issues that are steering the ship, human nature will take its course and those guys up there will remain elusive, detached, and well paid.

The people that would "smile" are the stick & ball people. Because they know the attendance for their events will continue to grow while the auto racing people fight amongst themselves (and continue to make THEMSELVES look bad).

I cover more sporting events in a year than many people see in a lifetime. I grew up in auto racing and last night I put together the sports pages that 20,000 people are reading today. How many people do you know that have spent endless hours taking sprint car photos and at the same time have stood on the sidelines at Notre Dame? Seems like the sort of guy that an auto racing fan would want in charge of what they see in the sports pages.

It's pretty obvious to me what's wrong with local auto racing. All you have to do is look at this thread.

Jim Fisher

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