Insight: How the GP of Baltimore posed a case study in promotional challenges

By Oct 29, 2014, 2:00 PM EDT
2 Comments

As the Verizon IndyCar Series schedule is set to be released tomorrow, one race you won’t be seeing listed is the Grand Prix of Baltimore, one of the championship’s most recent cracks at a new street race.

While Andretti Sports Marketing is already full speed ahead with planning on promotion of its new events in Miami (FIA Formula E) and New Orleans (IndyCar), company president John Lopes outlined a case study of what can go wrong in the promotional process: Baltimore.

IndyCar’s most recent on-again, off-again domestic street race (Brazil is set to reappear in 2015 after a one-year hiatus in 2014) occurred in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor from 2011 through 2013.

But while the event had a big-time feel on the ground, it eventually met its demise after going through a sea of red ink, several different promoters and scheduling conflicts.

Lopes explained the challenges that Andretti Sports Marketing dealt with when trying to save the event, which it took over in 2012, and how it ultimately wasn’t sustainable.

“Baltimore was an example of, whenever we were selling, it felt like we were outsiders. It was a case of ‘You’re not from here,’” Lopes explained in an interview with MotorSportsTalk at Andretti Sports Marketing’s Indianapolis headquarters.

“It’s a special town, and it was a great market with great people and a great community, but it had trouble embracing the race due to problems with the promoter the first year.

“The second promoter wasn’t successful, there was meant to be a third and then we jumped in 90 days before (in 2012).”

Making sure the race even happened in 2012 was key because IndyCar was operating on a reduced 15-race schedule from the previous season.

Races at Loudon, Kentucky, Motegi and Las Vegas were all dropped from 2011; Baltimore was one of only two of the last six races scheduled in 2011 to continue into 2012 (Sonoma the other).

“With a 90-day notice, the folks in that room put 131,000 people into the event, which is perhaps one of the most amazing stories by a promoter, ever,” Lopes said. “But we still had the problem of apologizing for what had happened the year prior.”

Lopes said divvying up who got what cut of the money from the event made things more of a hassle than at other events.

“The big thing with Baltimore was that it was in three different taxation zones. Everyone took chunks out of the event,” Lopes explained. “There was state; county; the convention center had to take $250,000; the city had huge taxes, the fire department brought their stuff. So it was difficult for the event to gain any traction.”

Scheduling issues, and with IndyCar’s insistence on a Labor Day ending point plus college football games at M&T Bank Stadium and sporadic Baltimore Orioles games at Camden Yards ultimately doomed the Labor Day event.

Getting state support and investment, as IndyCar is getting in NOLA next year with an additional $4.5 million invested by the state, shows a full commitment to that new event.

“As you know the state put $4.5 million into this thing, which shows it matters,” Lopes said. “That never happened in Baltimore. Nothing injected revenue into the event.

“You can say a lot for city services, but the state of Louisiana has really jumped behind this new event. It is guaranteed to be successful. With a new promoter and a territory wholly controlled by IndyCar, I think it’s off to the races.”

Ford Mustang GT3 test has Austin Cindric dreaming of Daytona: ‘I want to drive that car’

By Mar 22, 2023, 2:30 PM EDT
Cindric Ford GT3 test
Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images
0 Comments

Austin Cindric wasn’t the “mystery” test driver behind the wheel of the new Ford Mustang GT3 at Sebring International Raceway, but the Team Penske driver desperately wanted to be.

Ford CEO Jim Farley, an amateur sports car driver himself, made the big reveal via a Tuesday tweet that provided the first video evidence of the GT3 Mustang on track.

“I’ve watched the video in question about a million times,” Cindric said Wednesday during a Ford Performance Zoom news conference to promote NASCAR’s first road course weekend of the season at Circuit of the Americas. “Definitely exciting times for sure. I want to drive that car. It suits my experience level and also the relationships that I have.”

Ford will enter the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship next season with its GT3 Mustang, entering a two-car factory effort (that will be managed by Multimatic) in GTD Pro and making customer cars available in the GT Daytona category.

That increases the likelihood of seeing more NASCAR drivers crossing over to IMSA. Cindric has been the only full-time Cup driver in the Rolex 24 at Daytona the past two years, but Ford Performance global director Mark Rushbrook has said the GT3 Mustang will provide more opportunities.

Ford has used its GT4 Mustang as a NASCAR driver development tool in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge with Harrison Burton and Zane Smith combining to win the season opener at Daytona International Speedway in January.

“We’re excited about the Next Gen car and the new architecture there and the similarities between that car and GT3 and even GT4 cars,” Rushbrook said at the announcement of the Ford GT3 program in January 2022 at Daytona. “We think it’s a great opportunity and to do be able to do that in a 24-hour race and get NASCAR drivers even more time is something we need to consider taking advantage of that opportunity.”

Given his sports car background, Cindric probably still would be in the Rolex 24 regardless. He has eight IMSA starts since the 2017 season opener at Daytona, racing a Lexus RCF GT3 and Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the GT category. The 2022 Daytona 500 winner made his second LMP2 start this year with Rick Ware Racing.

But Cindric’s preference naturally would be in a Ford, particularly with sports car racing enjoying convergence and crossovers in both GT and prototype racing.

“It’s an exciting time in GT racing, just as it is now for prototype racing with a lot of new regulations and manufacturers building new GT3 cars,” he said. “And also the opportunity with WEC (the World Endurance Championship) and Le Mans and how that all lines up for that category of car. It’s definitely an exciting time. I want to be as much of a part of that as possible.”

Though those odds seemingly will increase with multiple Ford entries in the Rolex 24 field next year, Cindric said NASCAR drivers still have to put in the networking to land rides as he has in recent years.

“Now how (the GT3 Mustang) relates to specifically NASCAR drivers and how often they want to be in the Rolex, could it be an influence? Absolutely, as far as the tie-in with the manufacturer,” Cindric said. “But the challenge and the drive and the logistics of getting an opportunity for a race like the Rolex 24 will be just as challenging as it always is to find your one-off ride for the race. At least from my experience, that’s what I still anticipate.”

It turned out the “mystery” test driver wasn’t from NASCAR (Farley revealed the driver to be 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Joey Hand after a fan asked whether it was Joey Logano).

But Cindric believes there could be more Cup drivers — and perhaps himself — behind the wheel of Mustang GT3s in the future.

“There’s definitely more of a pathway than I think there would be before as far as Ford drivers are concerned,” he said. “Hopefully, I’ll get the opportunity to drive that thing. It’s obviously a great looking car. That’s the first box you’ve got to check. And it’s cool (to have) a guy like Jim Farley, no doubt he’s a racer just as much as he is steering the ship for Ford. It’s cool to see he’s just as excited as the rest of us about it.”