Just days after the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series championship was decided in South Florida, teams and drivers are already trying to nail down their plans for next season, which starts in the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., on March 27, 2011.
After all, 169 days can fly by quicker than you think.
Two of Andretti Autosport's drivers, former IndyCar champion Tony Kanaan and Long Beach winner Ryan Hunter-Reay, are lacking primary sponsors after their main backers, 7-Eleven (Kanaan) and IZOD (Hunter-Reay) decided not to return for 2011. It should be noted that 7-Eleven will stay with the team but as a secondary sponsor for Danica Patrick's No. 7 car.
Kanaan and Hunter-Reay are now in a potent free agent pool that also features Graham Rahal (now armed with a two-year sponsorship package), Justin Wilson (currently linked to Panther Racing), and former Indy 500/series champion Dan Wheldon. Suffice to say, it appears a really Silly Season is on tap to keep folks entertained over the winter.
But before we sit back and watch the fireworks, let's break down a memorable 2010 season.
BEST DRIVER: Dario Franchitti
No surprise here. Franchitti continues to just keep adding on to his legacy as one of the best drivers in American open-wheel history. By coming from 59 points down with four races left to defeating Will Power by a mere five points, he's now tied with Sam Hornish Jr. for most titles in series history. One may think it would start an interesting argument about who's the No. 1 driver in the Indy Racing League era, but the edge quickly goes to Franchitti for his ability to win on all types of tracks – not just speedways — en route to his titles.
WORST DRIVER: Milka Duno
What else is there to say about the CITGO-backed Venezuelan pilot? Duno seemed to pick up the pace after she was put on probation in mid-season, but she's nothing more than a lightning rod and punch line. It's gotten to the point that she's earned her own derogatory Twitter tag: #parkmilka. And let's not forget that her wreck on Lap 175 at Homestead nearly had a major impact on the championship – Franchitti had to back off the throttle in order to avoid her spinning into the wall. Many fans are hoping that's the last they'll see of her in the series.
BEST RACE: Sao Paulo
There were plenty of good races this season, but the opening round in Brazil seemingly had it all. Despite having to grind down the Sambadromo straightaway the night before the main event, the series put on an entertaining show inside a course that was quite bumpy but promoted plenty of passing. The fact that a bad storm drenched the course and knocked out the power at the race track added to the "everything but the kitchen sink" mentality that this event carried. Then you had Will Power winning in his Team Penske debut and Vitor Meira hitting the podium in his home country for the double happy ending.
The Sao Paulo Indy 300 was a mess, but it was a fun one.
WORST RACE: Kansas
Even though the action was a little bit better than the 2009 race at the 1.5-mile oval near Kansas City, Scott Dixon simply sucked the life out of this event with a dominating performance. The fact that the stands were just half full only added to the processional-like feel — and likely gave IndyCar another reason to ditch Kansas and the three other ISC-owned tracks at season's end.
BEST VICTORY: Ryan Hunter-Reay at Long Beach
The top American driver in the series has had plenty of history at the legendary Southern California street race. It's where he made his Champ Car debut, it's where he met his fiancée, and it was a favorite race of his mother, Lydia. Sadly, Lydia passed away last November after a battle with colon cancer. But after RHR put the finishing touches on his most important victory to date, he said he could sense that his mother was with him at the finish: "My mom was out there with me today. She just passed away recently. This race is for her. I was in a great zone. It was on the last couple of laps where I said [to myself], ‘Thanks for being with me today, Mom.'"
WORST CRASH: Mike Conway at Indianapolis
On the final lap of the Indianapolis 500, the second-year British driver came up on Hunter-Reay, who had slowed down as his car gasped for fuel. Unable to avoid the American, Conway ran over Hunter-Reay's left front tire and the No. 24 Dreyer and Reinbold Racing machine was launched into a flip before disintegrating on impact with the catch fence. The incident ended the 2010 campaign for Conway, who suffered a broken left leg and a compression fracture to one of his thoracic vertebrae. However, he was spotted supporting his team in the DRR pits at Homestead – a great sign after surviving his vicious wreck that made headlines around the world.
MOST POSITIVE SIGN FOR THE SPORT: IZOD
Never before has the series had a title sponsor that's put so much emphasis on activation and promotion. When IZOD became the new backer for the IndyCar Series, the clothing brand quickly realized that from a marketing point of view, the situation required – in the words of their main marketing man Mike Kelly — "a new egg" to replace the one broken by the open-wheel split. Utilizing an approach that pushed IndyCar into the realm of pop culture, IZOD quickly got to work. Time will tell if their effort pays off, but their addition to the sport appears to have been well-received so far.
WORST NEGATIVE SIGN FOR THE SPORT: Live attendance, lack of TV ratings
While IndyCar had some strong box office successes this year, it also had plenty of bombs — especially at the ISC-owned facilities of Kansas, Watkins Glen, Chicagoland and Homestead-Miami (which hosted the season finale in front of a pitiful estimated attendance of 12,000). The series won't be coming back to those facilities and will look to get more fans in the stands through a strengthened relationship with the SMI conglomerate. Meanwhile, TV numbers remain anemic. The Indy 500 hit an all-time U.S. ratings low on ABC with a 3.6 mark, and despite posting a double-digit viewership jump from their 2009 broadcasts, the limited cable reach of Versus remains a problem that must be corrected sooner rather than later.
POLARIZER AWARD: The Delta Wing
There's no discounting the raft of technical and performance innovations on the concept, which was one of five that battled to be the next-generation IndyCar starting in 2012. But while the radical-looking machine generated plenty of buzz upon its debut, not all of it was positive as many parts of the fan base cried foul on its unusual composition. Eventually, current chassis supplier Dallara won out on the 2012 sweepstakes in a safe, if unspectacular, choice for IndyCar. As for the Delta Wing, don't be surprised if it shows up in another series in the near-future.
HARD LUCK AWARD: Will Power
Make an argument all you want about KV Racing Technology and all the carbon fiber they destroyed in 17 races. But when you have a driver that held the championship lead throughout the season only to lose it in the final race, there's no doubt he's getting this award. So it goes with Will Power, whose five victories and IndyCar road/street course title may be of just limited consolation right now. That being said, there's no doubt he'll be a threat once more in 2011 with Team Penske.
BIGGEST LEARNER AWARD: Randy Bernard
Logic said that the Indianapolis Motor Speedway board of directors would look for a seasoned racing executive to replace Tony George as leader of IndyCar. But the opposite direction was taken instead as Randy Bernard, the former leader of the Professional Bull Riders and a man who had no motorsports experience whatsoever, became IndyCar's top dog. Likening his learning curve to "drinking water from a fire hose," Bernard has nonetheless attempted to provide a fresh leadership approach while he picks up the ins and outs of the sport. It'll be interesting to see what he'll have in store for the sport with a year under his belt.
