IndyCar's Bernard: 'I felt like dead man walking'
IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard took a week to ponder how he wanted to address swirling speculation about discord within the series.
Bernard chose to post a message on his Twitter account, two days after a successful Indianapolis 500, to let it be known that a team owner was trying to get him fired.
''I felt like dead man walking,'' he said before Sunday's Detroit Grand Prix. ''I had seven days to think about how I wanted to put it out. I didn't want to take anything away from the Indy 500.''
Bernard reiterated that he doesn't regret posting what he insisted was simply ''factual'' information and insisted it wasn't ''negative.''
''I wanted to get out in front of the problem,'' he said. ''My mentality is, if you back a kitten into a corner, you come out fighting like a tiger, and that's how I operate.''
The former Professional Bull Riders executive said he wants to work with owners on solutions to address complaints such as controlling cost certainty and believes progress was made during a meeting with them Saturday. But he made it clear that he doesn't work for them.
''I am here for a board of directors,'' Bernard said. ''That's who I answer to and I am confident that they support me very much.''
Bernard said he's encouraged by strong TV ratings at last week's Indy 500, particularly in the NASCAR-hotbed Charlotte, N.C., market, and predicts interest will grow as the series ambitiously has five races in as many weeks in five states. The Detroit Grand Prix was the second in the string and the next race will be June 9 in Texas followed by events in Wisconsin and Iowa.
