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IndyCar
MILLER: IndyCar Needs A Voice Of Reason
Call him a confidant, a consigliere or the VP of Common Sense: Randy Bernard needs one ASAP.
Open-wheel veteran Derrick Walker, right, would be the perfect choice to advise Randy Bernard on all matters related to the IZOD IndyCar Series. (Photo: LAT)
A few months ago Randy Bernard was talking to Derrick Walker about the racing director’s job for INDYCAR. But then Tony George and Ed Carpenter asked the longtime car owner to manage their new team in addition to leasing them his building.
So Walker began assembling a crew for Carpenter and Bernard hired Beaux Barfield as the new chief steward.
With Will Phillips in place as technical director, Trevor Knowles overseeing engine development and Barfield in Race Control, Bernard has strengthened the racing side of the IZOD INDYCAR series.
But I think he still needs a lieutenant, a go-between the owners and manufacturers, a savvy racer who understands the big picture from many perspectives that cares about IndyCar’s well-being.
Bernard needs Steve Horne or Walker and so does the series.
In the six decades I’ve been covering racing, no open-wheel boss has worked as hard as Bernard. The INDYCAR CEO is constantly flying somewhere to meet with a potential promoter, negotiate with his television partners, check on his projects in Hollywood, talk up a sponsor or put out a fire.
In three years he’s learned a lot about the business of auto racing and what a challenge it is to try and sell America on Indy cars. He’s done some good things, made a few mistakes and never stops thinking about marketing, promotion and creating a buzz.
But what he doesn’t know, doesn’t have the time for and can’t be expected to learn in 10 years is the inner-workings of a race team, the nuts and bolts of this business and where all the land mines are buried.
He’s not sure what a fair price is for a wishbone, a gearbox or an engine rebuild. He doesn’t know if Dallara is making too much profit on a part that could be built cheaper a mile away in a shop on Gasoline Alley.
He doesn’t know if a rules suggestion is good for all or simply a selfish move by the asker.
He can’t visit a manufacturer and ask the questions a car owner needs to know. He doesn’t have time to listen to their constant bitching, some merited some not, and he’ll never speak their language.
People will say Bernard has got Phillips and Barfield to take care of all that stuff. Yes, they can certainly help with details, rulings and protests but there needs to be a middle man between the front office and the front line.
And that’s never been more evident than the past few months.
Phillips was buried working on a new rule book, making sure the new cars were on time and trying to sort out the mass hysteria of Dallara’s weight distribution problems, while Barfield unpacked in January and began re-writing the laughable IRL rule book.
Bernard was crisscrossing the country from Texas to Los Angeles to Milwaukee to Fort Lauderdale to Baltimore to Brazil trying to finalize a schedule, in addition to mothering IZOD and fighting for more exposure on ABC and NBC Sports. He also went to Europe in search of new ideas on catch fencing and possible players in the engine wars.
But nobody was able to tell Sarah Fisher, Mike Shank, Eric Bachelart and Carpenter what kind of engine they might be getting for 2012 or when it might happen.
So Walker began assembling a crew for Carpenter and Bernard hired Beaux Barfield as the new chief steward.
With Will Phillips in place as technical director, Trevor Knowles overseeing engine development and Barfield in Race Control, Bernard has strengthened the racing side of the IZOD INDYCAR series.
But I think he still needs a lieutenant, a go-between the owners and manufacturers, a savvy racer who understands the big picture from many perspectives that cares about IndyCar’s well-being.
Bernard needs Steve Horne or Walker and so does the series.
In the six decades I’ve been covering racing, no open-wheel boss has worked as hard as Bernard. The INDYCAR CEO is constantly flying somewhere to meet with a potential promoter, negotiate with his television partners, check on his projects in Hollywood, talk up a sponsor or put out a fire.
In three years he’s learned a lot about the business of auto racing and what a challenge it is to try and sell America on Indy cars. He’s done some good things, made a few mistakes and never stops thinking about marketing, promotion and creating a buzz.
But what he doesn’t know, doesn’t have the time for and can’t be expected to learn in 10 years is the inner-workings of a race team, the nuts and bolts of this business and where all the land mines are buried.
He’s not sure what a fair price is for a wishbone, a gearbox or an engine rebuild. He doesn’t know if Dallara is making too much profit on a part that could be built cheaper a mile away in a shop on Gasoline Alley.
He doesn’t know if a rules suggestion is good for all or simply a selfish move by the asker.
He can’t visit a manufacturer and ask the questions a car owner needs to know. He doesn’t have time to listen to their constant bitching, some merited some not, and he’ll never speak their language.
People will say Bernard has got Phillips and Barfield to take care of all that stuff. Yes, they can certainly help with details, rulings and protests but there needs to be a middle man between the front office and the front line.
And that’s never been more evident than the past few months.
Phillips was buried working on a new rule book, making sure the new cars were on time and trying to sort out the mass hysteria of Dallara’s weight distribution problems, while Barfield unpacked in January and began re-writing the laughable IRL rule book.
Bernard was crisscrossing the country from Texas to Los Angeles to Milwaukee to Fort Lauderdale to Baltimore to Brazil trying to finalize a schedule, in addition to mothering IZOD and fighting for more exposure on ABC and NBC Sports. He also went to Europe in search of new ideas on catch fencing and possible players in the engine wars.
But nobody was able to tell Sarah Fisher, Mike Shank, Eric Bachelart and Carpenter what kind of engine they might be getting for 2012 or when it might happen.
INDYCAR BRAZIL
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