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IndyCar
MILLER: No Cure For IndyCar’s Stupidity
In the 44 years I’ve covered Indy car racing, nothing compares to the spineless, devious and classless treatment of Randy Bernard.
In the 44 years I’ve covered Indy car racing, nothing compares to the spineless, devious and classless treatment of Randy Bernard. It was as unprofessional as it was unnecessary and certainly a black eye for a series that is the laughing stock of motorsports today.
From the phonies who sat in the board meeting last month and endorsed Bernard’s budget/schedule to the embarrassing vote of confidence for him on Friday to that insulting press release Sunday claiming that he was stepping down, it stinks on every level.
From the car owners who backstabbed and plotted against him to Tony George’s relentless pursuit of power to the supposed brain trust of the Hulman & Company board, this was a senseless murder of a good man.
The worst CEO in the long, sad history of USAC/CART/IRL/Champ Car wouldn’t have deserved that kind of treatment, let alone a guy who worked tirelessly for three years to try and make Indy cars relevant again.
He inherited a wreck, rife with distrust and incompetence that had no leadership and no plan for new cars and engines. It was bleeding money and hadn’t had a fresh idea in a decade.
Bernard seemed to have a new idea every day, from starting a relationship with Hollywood’s Dreamworks for a movie to trying to entice NASCAR stars to a rich finale to creating a fund for non-leader’s circle members. They didn’t all work but he clearly saw that the old business model wasn’t working.
Unlike so many of the others before him, Bernard actually absorbed the culture and listened to the fans as well as his paddock. He adopted double-file restarts on the advice of Penske and Ganassi, tried to re-establish a relationship with ISC tracks, helped the Indy Lights champion move up to IndyCar and put the USAC champion back at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He was also bringing back doubleheaders and the Triple Crown for 2013.
He shored up the racing mentality by hiring Tony Cotman, Will Phillips, Steve Shunck and Beaux Barfield. He got rid of that hated IRL moniker and re-named it IndyCar.
From the first time he saw a USAC sprint car race at Kokomo and wondered why those drivers and fans weren’t part of IndyCar, he embraced the good old days and listened to what Parnelli, AJ, Uncle Bobby, Dan Gurney, Mario and J.R. had to say. They told him more American drivers were needed so he did something about it.
Most of all, he tried to understand what pleased the fans so that’s why he went back to Milwaukee, courted Pocono and resumed talks with Phoenix and MIS.
In his battles with NBC Sports and ABC for more exposure, he created some ill feelings, just like with Firestone when he started shopping the tire deal. But he was fighting for his brand and trying to improve the bottom line for the HG family. The owners revolted over new car and parts prices, even though engines leases were reduced, and he should have replaced TGBB with Derrick Walker a long time ago to handle those problems.
On the flip side, he also established a good working relationship with Honda, Verizon, General Motors, APEX, most of the promoters and the media.
But, as bad as many of feel for Randy right now, I feel even worse for Indy car racing.
From the phonies who sat in the board meeting last month and endorsed Bernard’s budget/schedule to the embarrassing vote of confidence for him on Friday to that insulting press release Sunday claiming that he was stepping down, it stinks on every level.
From the car owners who backstabbed and plotted against him to Tony George’s relentless pursuit of power to the supposed brain trust of the Hulman & Company board, this was a senseless murder of a good man.
The worst CEO in the long, sad history of USAC/CART/IRL/Champ Car wouldn’t have deserved that kind of treatment, let alone a guy who worked tirelessly for three years to try and make Indy cars relevant again.
He inherited a wreck, rife with distrust and incompetence that had no leadership and no plan for new cars and engines. It was bleeding money and hadn’t had a fresh idea in a decade.
Bernard seemed to have a new idea every day, from starting a relationship with Hollywood’s Dreamworks for a movie to trying to entice NASCAR stars to a rich finale to creating a fund for non-leader’s circle members. They didn’t all work but he clearly saw that the old business model wasn’t working.
Unlike so many of the others before him, Bernard actually absorbed the culture and listened to the fans as well as his paddock. He adopted double-file restarts on the advice of Penske and Ganassi, tried to re-establish a relationship with ISC tracks, helped the Indy Lights champion move up to IndyCar and put the USAC champion back at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He was also bringing back doubleheaders and the Triple Crown for 2013.
He shored up the racing mentality by hiring Tony Cotman, Will Phillips, Steve Shunck and Beaux Barfield. He got rid of that hated IRL moniker and re-named it IndyCar.
From the first time he saw a USAC sprint car race at Kokomo and wondered why those drivers and fans weren’t part of IndyCar, he embraced the good old days and listened to what Parnelli, AJ, Uncle Bobby, Dan Gurney, Mario and J.R. had to say. They told him more American drivers were needed so he did something about it.
Most of all, he tried to understand what pleased the fans so that’s why he went back to Milwaukee, courted Pocono and resumed talks with Phoenix and MIS.
In his battles with NBC Sports and ABC for more exposure, he created some ill feelings, just like with Firestone when he started shopping the tire deal. But he was fighting for his brand and trying to improve the bottom line for the HG family. The owners revolted over new car and parts prices, even though engines leases were reduced, and he should have replaced TGBB with Derrick Walker a long time ago to handle those problems.
On the flip side, he also established a good working relationship with Honda, Verizon, General Motors, APEX, most of the promoters and the media.
But, as bad as many of feel for Randy right now, I feel even worse for Indy car racing.
2013 INDY 500 Practice
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