Does kicking NASCAR out of Indy make financial sense? (Update)
06/10/13 Does kicking IndyCar's arch enemy NASCAR out of Indianapolis and replacing it with a 2nd IndyCar race, a 400-miler on the oval, make financial sense? Let's evaluate:
| NASCAR Brickyard Weekend | Indy 400 Weekend | ||
| Revenue* | Revenue* | ||
| TV | $12,000,000 | TV | $2,000,000 |
| Race Sponsorship | 1,800,000 | Race Sponsorship | $1,500,000 |
| Ticket Sales 80K @$85 | 6,800,000 | Ticket Sales 150K@$85 | $12,750,000 |
|
Total Revenue |
20,600,000 |
Total Revenue |
$16,250,000 |
| Cost | Cost | ||
| Sprint Cup Sanction Fee | $6,000,000 | 400-miler prize money | $5,000,000 |
| Nationwide Sanction Fee | $3,500,000 | ||
| Grand-Am Sanction Fee | $500,000 | ||
|
Total Cost |
$10,000,000 |
Total Cost |
$5,000,000 |
|
Gross Income |
$10,600,000 |
Gross Income |
$11,250,000 |
*Excludes suites, souvenir and concession sales, plus additional sponsorship revenue. Assume equal for both races
Conclusion: In general terms the Hulman George family would be wise to kick NASCAR out of Indy and focus their efforts on making a second IndyCar race a success. Not only is the gross income about the same, but instead of writing a check and giving it to arch-enemy NASCAR and its teams, IndyCar would be paying its own teams $5 million more in the way of prize money (with $1 million going to the winner). And since the race would be a home race for IndyCar and its teams, no hotel costs are incurred – pure gravy.
NASCAR only serves to dilute the IndyCar brand at IMS – IndyCar's holy shrine. The Hulman George family needs to return the most famous race track in the world to all about IndyCar. And only IndyCar. As it is, they've let their arch-enemy into their backyard and it's like a lawn fungus, killing IndyCar at its roots. The Indy 500 has not sold out since NASCAR came in, and it used to sell out for the following year the day after the current year's race was over.