OPINION: Positives and Negatives of the 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series Schedule

Last week, INDYCAR officials announced the 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series schedule. In case you missed the announcement, you can read it here.

With the schedule now fully announced, here are the positives and negatives of the new schedule….

POSITIVE: The Diversity of the Schedule

In traditional IndyCar sense, the schedule includes a diverse set of tracks that will test driver’s skills from the beginning of the year in March, to the end of the season in August. The schedule includes a street courses, road courses, short ovals and intermediate ovals, each track with it’s own unique challenges. From the hills at Sonoma Raceway, to the tricky three turns at Pocono Raceway, the 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series Champion will once again have to know how to handle the diverse set of tracks.

The diversity is also only expanded with the new schedule, as they have added some new tracks to the schedule – NOLA Motorsports Park and Autódromo Internacional Nelson Piquet in Brasília, Brazil. The result will be an additional challenge to the drivers that will have them trying to be the first driver to figure out the course to gain an advantage over the competition.

NEGATIVE: The Length of the Schedule

The schedule expands to 17 races in 2015, but will once again repeat 2014 in only going from March to August. The shortness leaves some fans unsatisfied, in feeling that they need to see more action from their favourite drivers and stars to fulfill their racing senses. Over the years, fans have criticized the schedule length, feeling that it lacks in comparison to other big racing series and sports.

While talk continues surrounding other racing series as they head into the championship picture, IndyCar is left on the back-burner, hidden in the shadows of discussion. If they were able to lengthen the schedule – even by just another month – it would help the series remain relevant. Keeping the series relevant and in discussions of both fans and the media is key if they want the publicity to continue to regrow the fan base.

POSITIVE: Returning to Brazil

The new schedule brings forth the return of a trip to Brazil in the form of a new venue for the fans. To be able to maintain an international platform is key for the IndyCar Series as it allows itself to reach new faces, which could potentially become new fans of the sport and further the growth. Brazil also seems to be the perfect spot for the series to go, given the Brazilian fan following that is seen through Brazil drivers Helio Castroneves and Tony Kanaan.

“It’s great to see the Verizon IndyCar Series going back to Brazil and expanding internationally,” Andretti Autosport team owner Michael Andretti said. “Having a presence outside of the U.S. is important for the health of the series and a necessary part of growing the visibility and awareness opportunities in our industry.”

While other series can market the sponsors towards just the United States, this will give the opportunity to IndyCar teams to entice sponsorship by explaining that their company will reach South American fans through the television coverage and a trip to Brazil. They also have the opportunity to market to Canadians, via the Honda Indy Toronto remaining on the schedule.

NEGATIVE: Baltimore and Houston both fall off the schedule

The new schedule brings forth new changes, but also brings forth the loss of some venues. The Streets of Baltimore and the Streets of Houston will not be part of the 2015 schedule due to seperate sets of reasons.

Baltimore was announced as not returning in September due to the “schedules not aligning” as IndyCar and the City of Baltimore could not find a good date that would work for everybody, due to “Labor Day weekend not being an option in 2014″. Houston did not return for the same reason as the City of Houston and IndyCar could not find an agreement that would work, either. Both cities have other sporting and entertainment events that would conflict with the available dates, resulting in the event not being a success if held due to low attendance.

Events that held in the thick of a city are always an advantage as you can attract the fans to come out to the city, while attracting those normally in the city to possibly come out and view the event, becoming a fan in the process. The Honda Indy Toronto has used this practice over the years in making the first day of the weekend – Friday – free to the fans so that way they could come check out the action and see whether it attracts their senses. In some cases, the fans have enjoyed the scene and agreed to stay for the rest of the weekend, buying tickets. There’s also the ability to create a party/festival atmosphere with different foods and other things available to bring fans out, attracting them to the core and possibly wheeling them in as future fans. With both Baltimore and Houston falling off the schedule, the ability to do that in those markets is not there, resulting in a loss opportunity for IndyCar.

POSITIVE/NEGATIVE: The Loss of the Honda Indy Toronto Double Header

While Belle Isle will continue to host a double header, it was revealed with the new schedule that the Honda Indy Toronto will now be one race over the weekend, versus two as it has been the previous two seasons. The announcement is both a positive and a negative for the teams, in that some will agree and others won’t.

The positive is that you don’t have a second race to worry about, so therefore you will see drivers pushing as hard as they can in the one race that they get to maximize their point gain, rather than possibly being worried about having a car for the second event. It also gives the drivers the ability to have more time for practice on track, to therefore get their cars better prepared for the one race of the weekend, rather than having a jam-packed schedule to fit two races in. It will make it easier on the teams as they won’t have as much work to do throughout the course of the three days.

The negative is the fans will not get the opportunity to see two races, but rather than now shrunk back to one race a weekend. Ticket sales for Saturday may take a hit due to not having enough to entice the fans to come out without the second race. The other negative is that the drivers lose an opportunity that they may have been able to use to gain points in having two races at one venue. However, that is a double edged sword as while you can use it to gain points, you could also lose in having a pair of bad races.

While there are positive and negatives to the new schedule, it certainly is an improvement from 2014 as the 2015 schedule will be a little longer, with new venues added to keep building the series up. If IndyCar continues to use the positive mometum that they’ve experienced so far and delivers the same action packed racing in 2015, it will be a great season for fans across the board.