The author and racing journalist John Oreovicz recently published a book — Class of ’99 — that covers the 1999 CART season. While I haven’t dug into the book yet, I’ve read a few pages here and there and I will get around to reading the rest soon.
Oreo has been making the rounds plugging his book, and I recently listened to him on The Pits Are Open podcast. It’s an interesting interview, and you can listen to it here.
The interview covers several interesting topics, and at one point mentions the famous white paper that Dan Gurney wrote in 1978 where he basically pleaded with the teams, promoters, and organizers to, well, get their shit together before all is lost.
Sound familiar? Actually, if you read the white paper, and substitute names and organizations, it could have very well been written last week. Dan was no doubt a visionary.
I have a General Studies degree, so I will always temper my views on the business side of the sport, because, frankly, I just don’t know enough to give an informed opinion, and probably wouldn’t understand the half of it.
But what I do know about is media. Creating content is what I love doing. Over the last 25 years I’ve been a sportswriter, blogger, podcaster, social media something-or-another (I hate the term “influencer”…that’s a topic for another day).
I’ve also spent two seasons as a credentialed member of the IndyCar media, and have covered countless other races on my own.
Back in late 2010, I joined the IndyCar blogosphere with my own corner of the Internet called 15 Days in May. I had a blast writing that blog, and along the way met people who are still friends to this day.
Back then, bloggers were a welcomed entity. There were a ton of blogs out there written by passionate fans who also happened to be talented writers. Remember “Blogger Night” on the Trackside with Curt Cavin and Kevin Lee show?
I appeared on the show a couple of times, once making the argument that while people pined for a Golden Age of the past, we were about to enter a Golden Age of our own. Given the success of drivers like Scott Dixon, Dario Franchitti, Will Power, Josef Newgarden, and others, I wasn’t all that far off.
Over the years, blogging kind of fell off, and IndyCar lost interest in us. Then podcasts started popping up, and I even jumped in a did a few of my own.
All of that was well, good, and fun, but over the years the media landscape with IndyCar has become quite siloed. Access to drivers is limited to just a few outlets, and it seems like requests are based on what they perceive will be the reach.
I have been writing for a running, cycling and triathlon website for about a year, and at the beginning of 2025 I sent a request to a PR person that I would like to talk to (driver’s name redacted) about how his cycling pairs up with his driving.
I said I would be at Content Days and would only need about five minutes. Content Days, mind you, where the goal is to…create content.
I never heard back. No, it wasn’t going to be an earth-shattering piece, but I know it was going to be read by a lot of people who could maybe make the connection between cycling and racing and decide to check out the sport. And, having talked to this driver before, I know the piece would’ve been well-read in his home country.
In my job as a content creator, I know what chasing engagement is all about. But the thing is, you never know. I’ve put up some posts I really liked that didn’t have much traction, and so-so posts that have taken off.
The drivers now are so protected, and requests so nit-picked in search of engagement, that I think there are opportunities that are being missed.
I’d get all of it if the series was thriving. I mean, I get it in NASCAR, they have a massive number of media partners, fans, and television viewers that a driver could easily get stretched pretty thin. And that’s not even factoring in racing almost 40 weekends a year.
But IndyCar? Why? As I’ve said in other posts lately, this series is starving for attention, but yet drivers and teams are given a bare minimum of obligations on race weekends.
It’s all about media, and all about content. I think it’s time for them to give the fans a voice back again.
Is it through blogs? Podcasts? On-site with credentials?
Yes.
I’m not saying hand out credentials to everyone who wants access to the media center and selfies with drivers, but set some standards and turn us loose. Let us show you what we’ve got. Give us a seat at the table.
Remember the Social Media Garage at Indy in 2012? It absolutely killed. It brought fans together, got them talking, and, as I said earlier in this post, made friends and connections.
Now multiply that, and all of the sudden you have something. I truly believe that this could be something. It costs nothing…we’re all coming to the races anyway. Give us the opportunity to ask questions at pressers, and give us one-on-one time with drivers.
I guarantee our passion and talent will shine through.
IndyCar has been down this road before. Back in the day, we carried the torch for this series when not a lot of people were doing it. Give the people some access, let us share our ideas, and make us feel part of something.
What have you got to lose?
Your INDYCAR Experience 