IndyCar is primed for an explosion in popularity, with a great blend of characters behind the wheel and special events for fans to attend.
Marketing hasn’t ever been a strength of the series, and it showed in what was meant to be a spectacular season finale at the Music City Grand Prix.
Juncos Hollinger driver Conor Daly mentioned that only 400,000 people tuned in to the race, which saw Alex Palou and Will Power go head-to-head for the title.
Granted, they were competing against the NFL that afternoon, which had a slate of 10 games on, but that’s a scenario which could have been avoided.
IndyCar needs better marketing and a bright idea
Judging by those numbers, it appears that they can’t even get the formulae right in the US, let alone anywhere else in the world.
Over in the UK, it’s a series that is really only known for one thing among motorsport fans – that’s the Indianapolis 500.
READ MORE: Alex Palou shares what he thinks he can still improve after winning his third IndyCar championship
It forms part of the holy ‘Triple Crown’ alongside the Monaco Grand Prix and 24 Hours of Le Mans, but got us thinking here at Full Oversteer – what can IndyCar do to grow in the UK?
First of all, there is no marketing for the series here whatsoever. Even Sky Sports who have the rights to show it, don’t advertise it on their channels.
They have to make a better effort to reach fans, and that starts with investing in advertising to make sure that people at least know the name of the series and some of the drivers in it.
Could a docuseries help IndyCar kick on?
It’s no secret that Netflix’s Drive to Survive series helped Formula 1 to explode in popularity around the world.
In many ways, there are more aspects to the IndyCar series, with ovals, street circuits, more drivers and teams.
Surely it’s primed for someone to attempt to make a few episodes for a series – to give the fans and those that don’t know about the sport some behind-the-scenes access and to see what it’s really like in the world of IndyCar.
Although it ended with a bit of a damp squib, the championship finale could’ve made for excellent TV and fantastic drama, and motorsport fans in the UK love pure racing action.
READ MORE: Romain Grosjean really annoyed by 26-race IndyCar rival after late Nashville incident
Power being forced laps down due to a seatbelt malfunction, would be a terrific storyline to follow, inside the garage and on the track in that scenario.
There’s a lot for IndyCar to learn yet, but there is hope that one day it will be able to find some momentum and build upon their fanbase.
They’re going to have to put in a lot of hard work though, and the onus is on them to make sure that they can reach audiences both in the US and the UK.