IMSA 2024

Charlie Spencer said:
I don't know why some folks can't accept the NASCAR popularity of the '90s and '00s was a fad. Fads come and go, even in sports.
Click to expand...

Those who live in the south got burned out on the constant bombardment of official Nascar cereals, air fresheners and feminine hygiene products. The Nascar hype machine was in warp drive well past the point of nausea. Dude, it was so obnoxious you would not believe it if you weren't here to see it for yourself.

The official constipation relief product of Nascar. No kidding. I actually saw that on the shelf at Publix.
 
Doc Austin said:
WEC might consider airing the first hour until right before airing the last. That way you'de get a two hour deal instead of spacing it out and breaking up people's days. Watch the race, move on instead of waiting four hours between shows. It's kind of inconvenient to have to interrupt your day by making you wait between telecasts, especially as short as attention spans are.

Personally, I get around all of that simply by recording both and watching at my convenience, so that's not really a huge complaint.

Having said that, the telecasts have gotten exponentially better and better in the last few years. they got rid of the original squids in the booth and the newest guys do a great job. It used to be all stuffy and boring, but the newest crew keeps it fun. One thing I do miss about the newest telecasts is having Alan McNish as color.
Click to expand...
I think the way it’s broken up is really more of a Motor Trend programming decision than anything else. For $5 a month or whatever it is, the Motor Trend app stream of the full race commercial-free + onboards is well worth it, now that the championship is worth watching on a regular basis again.
 
FLRacingFan said:
I think the way it’s broken up is really more of a Motor Trend programming decision than anything else.
Click to expand...
They could still air it the way I suggested and it would be a better presentation. I'm not complaining because before Motor Trend we couldn't get anything.
FLRacingFan said:
For $5 a month or whatever it is, the Motor Trend app stream of the full race commercial-free + onboards is well worth it, now that the championship is worth watching on a regular basis again.
Click to expand...
I'll have to look into that. Thanks.
 
Doc Austin said:
Conversely, less races makes every one even more critical and leaving everyone wanting more. I'm kind of ok with it because combined we have about 20 big sportscar events. If you look at F1, most of us were burned out by about Monza. Imagine how burned out the teams must be.
Click to expand...
If you aren't already invested, being told that a thing you think is cool will be on again in a month and a half is not going to engage you IMO. Every single race is followed by the F1 summer break. And we wouldn't be burned out on F1 nearly so much if there weren't serious issues with the series like the single team dominance and the fact that these cars suck out loud at the tracks F1 was historically best at. They had an unwatchable, utterly boring event at Spa. That takes effort to do.

Doc Austin said:
It was the last time they tried it, but WEC is probably trying to cash in on F1s success here. Indianapolis will probably be a ghost town too.
Let's remain hopeful because we don't want any of these races to slow down WEC's momentum.
Click to expand...
IMSA/Indy is a little bit different of a thing in so much as there will be many other US races to attend. I might make my way down for that this year after skipping it in 2023. There's no Indy/NASCAR double header weekend and I can't justify spending money to go to the Brickyard 400. I just don't care enough anymore for that series but at least could get myself to enjoy IMSA and the various other support series they bring.

Doc Austin said:
Indycar hasn't seemed to have learned this either judging by how they scheduled Iowa and Gateway.
Click to expand...
Gateway is a night race this year on a Saturday - I'm planning to go and even try to make my own "double" by attending Springfield's Silver Crown event and Indycar at Gateway on the same date. Also NXT and Silver Crown are probably running on Friday evening, so I mean, c'mon now. I gotta see that. Iowa I went to in 2022 and haven't returned to in large part because it's just a lot of effort for a race I'm attending by myself. 8 1/2 hours in the car + the 45 minute drive from Altoona IA + the post-race trip on Saturday down to Knoxville for the weekly program or 360 Nationals takes a toll on me, especially when it's 100 degrees like it was last time.

Doc Austin said:
Even worse they pissed everyone off by cutting access to businesses (which is currently part of a class action lawsuit) and sky high ricket prices. Then they cut FP1 to seven minutes and ran everyone out for FP2. If i spent that much money and got to se nothing I' probably wouldn't go back. Vegas GP has come PR work cut out for them.

At least they had a good race and no other unforeseen new street track boobytraps. I can't remember the last new street track that didn't have a rough first race.
Click to expand...
LOL ask Sainz about that. I can't provide any sort of unbiased view on F1 anymore and especially on the Vegas race, so why bother? I will only say in regards to the dip in viewership that they likely lost some viewers just from the transition of people away from cable and also the season sucked. You give people a competitive title fight and I'm guessing the viewership goes right back up again here in the US or even improves. That's good for those people who will watch, I suppose.
 
virtualbalboa said:
If you aren't already invested, being told that a thing you think is cool will be on again in a month and a half is not going to engage you IMO. Every single race is followed by the F1 summer break.
Click to expand...
Conversely, if you love WEC having fewer races makes each one more meaningful. I<SA has about the same amount of races, bnut 18-19 total is still a lot of sportscar racing.
virtualbalboa said:
And we wouldn't be burned out on F1 nearly so much if there weren't serious issues with the series like the single team dominance and the fact that these cars suck out loud at the tracks F1 was historically best at. They had an unwatchable, utterly boring event at Spa. That takes effort to do.
Click to expand...
After five race we all knew the championship was as good as over, but I didn't want to miss watching that kind of history. It would have been different if someone got in thee and made it at least a little interesting, but i found myself fast forwarding through a lot of it. At least the midfield battle was sort of interesting, and the only hope is someone gets it right next year and takes it to Red Bull. Otherwise it's just another lost year.
virtualbalboa said:
Gateway is a night race this year on a Saturday -
Click to expand...
They have run it at night before and it was still broiling. They need to run it in late April or the heat is going to kill someone.

virtualbalboa said:
I can't provide any sort of unbiased view on F1 anymore and especially on the Vegas race, so why bother?
Click to expand...
You can't let one race ruin if for you unless you were one of the people who got hose out of F1/2, but you can bet those folks won't forget it and no one can blame them for not going back.
virtualbalboa said:
I'm guessing the viewership goes right back up again here in the US or even improves. That's good for those people who will watch, I suppose.
Click to expand...
I think it's peaked, partially because the season was so uncompetitive and partially because they were never real fans to begin with, and now that it's not the cool thing it's too much work to keep up.
 
virtualbalboa said:
LMP2 still exists! I literally suggested it in tandem with GTP!
Click to expand...
Well, I'm not arguing because that's what I'de love to see too. They just had=ve to make it work for everyone. WECs loss of P2 tightened up IMSA P2 grid so I'm at last ok with that part.

They had to pare the classes down from LNH, LMDh, GTE am and GT3. itr was just too hardto kep it all straight, expecally when all icard about was the P classes. The should have given the GT cars their own race and kpt ll the P2 together, Instead, the dumped the best class they had,w hich as P2.

I would have rather seen them give the GT sleds their own race on Saturday and run all the P cars on Sunday. Still, the teams and sporsors signed up to be in the big show. so were stuck with it for at least this eyar. Maybe if they kept the P2 cars they could pull it off, but wtho0ut them there's only 19 prototypes, and they only turned away one.

I think it was a horrible mistake to drop P2 because it was the best class they had. Those cars always stole the show. Next year they are expecting more customer cars from Lambo and Ferrari, and maybe even Alpine. If you can get 25 hypersleds and 10 or 15 P2 cars, they could probably pull it off, but right now they have zero P2s. All those are either in IMSA or ELMS.

Looking back at 89 or so, there was a picture of Dijon with the grid going all the way around the last corner and disappearing. It was all C1 abd C2 cars too. That's where iI'e lie to see us go. GT racing s pretty intense, but they detract from the P classes in the telecasts, which I kind of dispise.
 
Doc Austin said:
Conversely, if you love WEC having fewer races makes each one more meaningful. I<SA has about the same amount of races, bnut 18-19 total is still a lot of sportscar racing.
Click to expand...
You're talking to someone who has watched 80+ sprint car features in the last 3 months! It's also very different things on very different distribution channels. There's no real cross promotion whatsoever beyond Le Mans; if you watch an IMSA broadcast you probably would have no clue when the next WEC race is or how to tune in.

Doc Austin said:
After five race we all knew the championship was as good as over, but I didn't want to miss watching that kind of history. It would have been different if someone got in thee and made it at least a little interesting, but i found myself fast forwarding through a lot of it. At least the midfield battle was sort of interesting, and the only hope is someone gets it right next year and takes it to Red Bull. Otherwise it's just another lost year.
Click to expand...
I feel like I don't want to dwell on bad things and my perceptions of F1 right now are all terrible.

Doc Austin said:
They have run it at night before and it was still broiling. They need to run it in late April or the heat is going to kill someone.
Click to expand...
You'll at least get evaporative cooling at night that isn't an option in day time. I'm not opposed to it being in spring either, but I seriously wonder if the USAC tie in is intentional as part of the overall package. Kinda ludicrious to think that Indycar is scheduling around USAC in Year Of Our Lord 2024 but I mean, I can't deny there's an obvious synergy there.

Doc Austin said:
You can't let one race ruin if for you unless you were one of the people who got hose out of F1/2, but you can bet those folks won't forget it and no one can blame them for not going back.
Click to expand...
I agree with you which is also part of the issue on why I won't talk about it. I went to the USGP this year. It was $685 for my seat. $685! I have been to Abu Dhabi too for a season concluding race! And - AND - I literally just booked a week long trip in Vegas and almost the entire week are comp rooms. I turn 41 this week, which also puts me squarely in the desired demographic for F1. I have the income, the educational attainment, the social connections with other diverse, successful people my age to promote the sport with! And I hate the Vegas GP. I actively dislike it and wish it ill.
Doc Austin said:
I think it's peaked, partially because the season was so uncompetitive and partially because they were never real fans to begin with, and now that it's not the cool thing it's too much work to keep up.
Click to expand...
Everyone wasn't a real fan once, and right now I guess I'm not a fan of F1 at all, so how can I judge the new fans? F1 has also clearly changed in ways that I am not into at all but it seems to be what those new fans want. I defer to Doris Day.
Doc Austin said:
Well, I'm not arguing because that's what I'de love to see too. They just had=ve to make it work for everyone. WECs loss of P2 tightened up IMSA P2 grid so I'm at last ok with that part.

They had to pare the classes down from LNH, LMDh, GTE am and GT3. itr was just too hardto kep it all straight, expecally when all icard about was the P classes. The should have given the GT cars their own race and kpt ll the P2 together, Instead, the dumped the best class they had,w hich as P2.

I would have rather seen them give the GT sleds their own race on Saturday and run all the P cars on Sunday. Still, the teams and sporsors signed up to be in the big show. so were stuck with it for at least this eyar. Maybe if they kept the P2 cars they could pull it off, but wtho0ut them there's only 19 prototypes, and they only turned away one.

I think it was a horrible mistake to drop P2 because it was the best class they had. Those cars always stole the show. Next year they are expecting more customer cars from Lambo and Ferrari, and maybe even Alpine. If you can get 25 hypersleds and 10 or 15 P2 cars, they could probably pull it off, but right now they have zero P2s. All those are either in IMSA or ELMS.

Looking back at 89 or so, there was a picture of Dijon with the grid going all the way around the last corner and disappearing. It was all C1 abd C2 cars too. That's where iI'e lie to see us go. GT racing s pretty intense, but they detract from the P classes in the telecasts, which I kind of dispise.
Click to expand...
I get all the points made before too re: the amount of time cars are on track today is likely similar to what it was in the 80s too. But ultimately if we're talking about commercialization of sports car racing to reach a broader audience than "rich old guys who already watch sports car racing" you need to run more races in more markets with shorter distances and probably separate out the classes again as part of it. You gotta be looking to those new F1 fans as our target market to try and steal from by providing an alternative product that appeals to them. Those people are expecting races every other week throughout the season. You put a series on ice for 6 weeks, it might as well not exist anymore to people who aren't yet invested.
 
The season picks up quite a bit from Sebring onwards. There’s at least one race per month from there on out, and in some cases, two per month. With all of the work involved in tearing down and rebuilding cars after Daytona, testing at Sebring, then prepping for racing at Sebring, it’s understandably how long the layoff between the first two events is.

If they can add Lime Rock back for GTs and add a new event like a Denver street race (or whatever big new event IndyCar may add in 2025) next year it would be a pretty great schedule. But they’re being pretty sensitive about budgets and what types of venues manufacturers want to be at.
 
virtualbalboa said:
I'm pretty sure it did, which is why the Southern 500 is a night race now.
Click to expand...
Have you been to a S500? I live 80 miles west of Darlington. Believe me, it stays above 90F and humid well into that race.
Doc Austin said:
You can't let one race ruin if for you unless you were one of the people who got hose out of F1/2, but you can bet those folks won't forget it and no one can blame them for not going back.
Click to expand...
It doesn't look good to people who couldn't make it this year but were considering going in the future. Remember the first Cup race at Kentucky? The traffic and parking issues were legendary. The lasting negative PR must have played some role in the eventual shuttering of the track.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
It doesn't look good to people who couldn't make it this year but were considering going in the future.
Click to expand...
Las Vegas cheezed off a big bunch of people, no doubt. Those who were there for FP1 and got run out before FP2 were the people who had the most room to complain.

Right now a bunch if Las Vegas businesses are filing a class action lawsuit that claims the GP limited access to them, and it's right at about $20 million. They didn't get this thing off to a good start, at least PR wise.

Vegas really needs to clean up all the problems before next year or no one is going to pay those kind of ticket prices.
 
Daytona 24 viewership was up quite a bit percentage-wise on Peacock and internationally via the IMSA.tv stream.

racer.com

IMSA's streaming, social reach expands

After a 28 percent television viewer increase for the debut of IMSA’s new Grand Touring Prototype class in the 2023 Rolex 24 at Daytona, the ratings for the 2024 edition slipped some, despite…
racer.com racer.com
 
Kiante said:


.... WHAT!?
Click to expand...

Wow! It’s hard to deny AXR have done more with that car so far, but I didn’t expect GM to straight up pull the plug on CGR that soon. That 01 has just been so unfortunate on track since it debuted. An expanded two-car AXR program should be a really formidable program next year though.

Really interesting to see that, on the WEC side, this could be the ticket for United Autosport to move up to the top level.
 
FLRacingFan said:
Wow! It’s hard to deny AXR have done more with that car so far, but I didn’t expect GM to straight up pull the plug on CGR that soon. That 01 has just been so unfortunate on track since it debuted. An expanded two-car AXR program should be a really formidable program next year though.

Really interesting to see that, on the WEC side, this could be the ticket for United Autosport to move up to the top level.
Click to expand...
Ganassi had been wanting a second car in WEC, I honestly wonder what happened in this circumstance?

I think GM was expecting more consistent results from Ganassi and decided not to renew.
 
Kiante said:


.... WHAT!?
Click to expand...

Cadillac to NASCAR confirmed
51b8e89ceab8eaa87d000009.jpeg
 
Doc Austin said:
So who is going to run Caddy's LMDh program?
Click to expand...
Most likely AXR adding onto the 31 program and then a new partner in WEC, an existing European-based outfit.

No reason was given for the impending split, and GM has not announced if another team will take charge of the No. 01 Cadillac next year, but multiple sources tell RACER the 2023 GTP champions at Action Express Racing, which secured the title with the No. 31 Cadillac V-Series.R, is likely to expand to two cars in 2025.

In WEC, United Autosports, TF Sport, and at least one other European team is understood to be on GM’s radar as a new service provider.
Click to expand...

Could see someone like Algarve Pro or Inter Europol factoring in as WEC candidates but it’s hard to bet against the resources of United Autosport.
 
virtualbalboa said:
Lambo's head of motorsport resigned right before their GTP debut which, uhh, good luck to them.
Click to expand...
I don’t know if that’s a bad thing, but I definitely don’t think it’s a good thing. Sanna had been a huge factor in Lamborghini becoming a major player in sports car racing, starting with entering the GT3 scene about a decade back. Super Trofeo has become a really big single-make championship around the world and he was the biggest internal proponent for the LMDh project.
 
Kiante said:
AWA had a whole meltdown today:
Click to expand...

Seems like we are guaranteed one gentleman driver meltdown each season, but with a new car two races into the season is quicker than normal. Hopefully the car finds a good home.

Was funny one of the AWA mechanics in the IG replies saying he forgot to mention in the ad he had crashed the car, lol.
 
Fairly new team to the paddock, don’t know much of anything about them, but the car looks nice.

 
27 cars across GTP/GTD for the first sprint of the season tomorrow. Hopefully it’s as good as last year’s barnburner.

 
Doc Austin said:
I hope the qualifying order stays the same, at least the front row. Durani vrs Bourdais would be fascinating.

#31 Cadillac Quickest In First Practice From Long Beach

#31 Cadillac Quickest In First Practice From Long Beach
www.dailysportscar.com www.dailysportscar.com
Click to expand...
Close, Bourdais went P3 on his final lap after tracking for pole before running up on one of the BMWs in the final corners.

Derani takes pole over Yelloly by .009 and stuffed it in the barrier on his final attempt, but was able to reverse out and bring it back to the pits. Looks like light cosmetic stuff.

 
FLRacingFan said:
Close, Bourdais went P3 on his final lap after tracking for pole before running up on one of the BMWs in the final corners.

Derani takes pole over Yelloly by .009 and stuffed it in the barrier on his final attempt, but was able to reverse out and bring it back to the pits. Looks like light cosmetic stuff.

Click to expand...

20240419_180933.jpg

Yep, it is cosmetic.
 
I'm glad I checked TVRacer for the first time in a few weeks. Things have been hectic here and I forgot about this race and Indy tomorrow.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom