Fans speak out on Junquiera’s lost ride
IndyCar commentary — By Steph Wallcraft on May 23, 2011 10:15 pmPaul and I don’t broach every topic relating to the IZOD IndyCar Series on these pages. If something comes up that’s been reported in multiple outlets and all we have to add is “that’s great” or “that sucks,” we tend to let it slide.
But today’s news that Michael Andretti has bought Bruno Junquiera’s legitimately acquired seat in the coming Indianapolis 500 from AJ Foyt to field his own driver who missed the show is too heinous to let pass without acknowledgement.
Neither of us has anything to add on this topic that hasn’t already been said by many fans. Instead, we’ve opted to use this space to give those fans a more collected voice. Please feel free to contribute your part to the discussion using the comments section below.
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Michael’s mulligan mars majesty of Indy’s image
– Tony Johns, PopOffValve.com
“Wow, Bruno Junquiera bumped out of the Indy 500 a day after bump day. Try explaining that to a young race fan…”
– @Schrementi
“When I hear about drivers getting bumped for other drivers, it makes me question the integrity of the sport. I thought Indycar was different…”
– @XtinaV
“The Indy 500, the greatest spectacle in underhanded moves of corruption and greed… sad.”
– @obriano
“I won’t be buying one drop of Sun Drop, using DHL, or buying a scrap of Scamdretti-Foyt Racing merchandise.”
– @groundedeffects
“The ‘Fastest Drivers in the World’ slogan from INDYCAR and Randy Bernard just took a BIG hit! This is what fans have to endure…”
– @jerrycruz1077
“Whoa, people buy their way into INDYCAR races? Suddenly, I’m not quite as interested.”
– @jwilliams083
“Does an owner who sells a ride deserve to drive the pace car?”
– @JPIndycar
“Looks like I’m gonna need to buy a new INDYCAR shirt to replace my Andretti Autosport one. I’m still an Andretti Autosport fan, but I just can’t bring myself to sport the gear at the Indy 500.”
– @marcosgurl26
“The damage to INDYCAR’s credibility is worse than leaving one sponsor (SunDrop) out of the race. It hurts future sponsorship deals.”
– @jmcc09
“I have never respected silver spoon boy Michael Andretti and this cinches it. I also hope AJ is prepared for boos when driving the pace car.”
– @elgordo99
“I am strongly in favor of starting the new century by linking the car AND the driver on qualifying.”
– @pressdog
“Thought this Indy 500 would be most memorable for the centennial. Nope. It’s the year I lost my last nugget of respect for AJ.”
– @MsTitsMcGee
“Man, at this rate it’s looking like Sarah Fisher Racing should have qualified the #57 and then put it on eBay. Could have funded 2012 right there!”
– @FTHurley
“The ‘best drivers in the world’ in ‘the most important race in history’ … where you can buy your way in. Embarrassing.”
– @Neffry_Aawg
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“Here’s the issue I, as a fan, have with Bruno Junqueira getting booted from his ride in place of Ryan Hunter-Reay. I sat and watched ALL of qualifying this weekend live. Every single run that was made, I watched on TV. I saw the look in Danica’s eyes when the rain began to fall and the thought that she might miss the race hit hard. I saw the anguish on Marco’s face about whether to run or not and the determination to make the show when he went back out. I saw the look of disappointment in RHR’s eyes, heard it in his voice, when he didn’t make the show. All of those moments are dramatic, tense, and exactly what the Series needed to draw in fans. It’s all I talked about this morning at work.
And now, I find out it was all artificial. RHR didn’t make it? Buy a seat. I have no doubt if Marco didn’t make it, or Danica, they’d just buy another seat or two.
The drama is gone. Does it cheapen this year’s race? A little; not much. The qualified car will still run as always. The drivers don’t make Indy — Indy makes the drivers.
Does it cheapen bump day next year? ABSOLUTELY. Because it’s meaningless until the checkbooks close.”
– @kraegar, via email
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“For me, it comes down to fairness and integrity. Rules can for the most part legislate fairness, but they cannot legislate integrity. Die-hard fans trust in the integrity of the players, and today’s events make it clear that for two of what were the most respected racing families at Indianapolis, integrity is a secondary consideration.
Am I angry? Maybe that’s too strong a term, but it’s more than sadness or disappointment. I can’t be sold on manufactured drama if it can be undone so easily the next day with a wad of cash.”
– @sejarzo, via email
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“It sort of cancels out all of the drama and excitement of Bump Day if it can just be undone with money, doesn’t it?”
– @99forever
“What really grinds my gears is that Michael thinks that he and his team’s presence are now more important than the race itself.”
– @Fieldof33
Many of the comments on Twitter seem to be excusing Ryan as if he has no part in this at all. He is a grown man who is responsible for his own actions. No one can make him drive the 41. He has the final choice and should be held accountable for his role in this. If Ryan chooses to drive, he knows the ride was bought for him and Bruno is getting kicked to the curb as a result.
I find it fascinating that tradition, which is kept sacrosanct by Indy fans and which has always held that the car and not the driver is qualified, is quickly dispensed with once an injustice is seen! That could be an allegory for so many elements in the world.
I’m not as inclined to be totally outraged by this, but that’s my nature anyway; as I see it a lot of people have been clamoring for “heels” or villains in the sport; Andretti/AGR have been pretty good at that for years, this just cements it further. Does it ruin the integrity of the race? Well, teammate swaps have happened numerous times. Scott Goodyear finished second after his teammate was stripped of his car. Do people look at that race as being tainted? This isn’t really that much different, just because it’s a different team and maybe Bruno Junqueira is more of an innocent victim because he didn’t have the chance to accept the circumstances going in. But the cause is basically the same; the sponsors have to be serviced.
The greatest spectacle in racing is now for sale! A sad day for sure! I sat my butt on the couch for every hour of TV coverage on Versus both Saturday and Sunday only to find that it was a complete waste of time as bump day has turned into pimp day. Hey Versus, you listening? Next year on bump day, I’ll go for a motorcycle ride! Then read Twitter on Monday to see who bought their way into the race.
Why blame Versus? Blame 2 of the biggest names in AOW. If I was Michael I would feel humiliated having to BUY a quallified car for their failure to BUILD one. This will come back to haunt both teams come Sunday. You can’t fool “the big oval”.
RWS, I didn’t get that he was blaming Versus, but rather pointing out that Michael Andretti and AJ Foyt pissed all over qualifying, Bump Day, etc…
I think his point was Versus “product” will be effected. Why watch if it’s all just bullshyt??
If you’re gonna make deals, make them BEFORE the checkered flag, and get your driver into a car that can make or has already made the show. Otherwise, you’re NOT in the show. Period.
Usually, MoreFrontWing has two sides to an issue. Steph, you’re usually fantastic at giving us the whole picture. This is disappointing. Today, is gut wrenching. It sucks!!! I hate it. I have the worse feeling in the bottom of my stomach. This is the result of 13 years of fans, owners, teams, everyone associated with North American open wheel racing running this sport in the ground! Open-wheel united because both sides were just about dead. It’s been extremely difficult to attract sponsors to this sport. At the moment, fans aren’t enough to pay the bills. Our numbers are just too small. We need sponsors in a big way. For a decade, I avoided the internet and talking with people about open-wheel because I hated these debates. I just wanted to enjoy the sport. The cold hard fact is Ryan Hunter-Reay wasn’t running to make the Indy 500, he was running to keep his ride in IndyCar. There’s drama for you. Here’s more drama. Once Danica leaves for NASCAR, Andretti Autosport will be in BIG trouble. GoDaddy will be gone. Plus, there’s the real possibility DHL & Sundrop will be gone…
You’re right that we generally try to offer both sides of an issue (and thank you for saying so — that means we’re accomplishing what we set out to achieve).
As a blogger (and I’m speaking solely for myself here and not necessarily for Paul), I feel that I have two responsibilities. One is to provide highly in-depth coverage of INDYCAR and its feeder series that’s designed for serious fans of the sport. The other is to be representative of the collective fan voice in a way that might cause it to be better heard.
In this case, when I went looking for quotes to use for this post, I only found one side of the argument presented by the fan base at large: bitter disappointment at how far the meaning of qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 had fallen that this could be allowed to happen. The positions of Michael Andretti and AJ Foyt are abundantly clear in that they followed through on their actions, but it’s possible that they hadn’t considered the side of the story presented here when making the decisions that they did. That’s how we’ve endeavored to cater to both sides in this case — by giving the fans’ side a venue to be heard.
I hope that makes sense to you and that you continue to enjoy our coverage! Your opinions mean a great deal to us.
My biggest concern, which I did not articulate well, is the pendulum was swinging violently far on the outrage. Especially, on Twitter. We needed a counterbalance. There seems to be very little editorializing on why this is occurring and why it might be in our best interest to allow him to run. It’s bad for the Indy 500, but it is good for the IndyCar Series. On Twitter we have fans attacking Ryan, Beccy, SunDrop, DHL, the Andrettis… My parents in Indianapolis knew people mad at IZOD. They thought IZOD was behind this… IZOD isn’t even his sponsor this year. Yesterday, we had a fan on Twitter telling Sundrop that he hoped Ryan crashed on the first lap. @ChinaRacing is flaming SunDrop and telling people to drink Mountain Dew. Someone created a fake amber alert, in the form of a retweet, from Beccy. “RT @BeccyGordon: ***AMBER ALERT*** PLEASE RT —>REPUTATION OF @RYANHUNTERREAY KIDNAPPED BY CAR OWNER AND SPONSORS LIKE @SUNDROP.” Not to mention all the other outrageous stuff… Fans need the whole story and the ramifications. This won’t appease everyone.
Several vocal critics in IndyCar live in glass houses. How can Jimmy Vasser say bump day is now a joke? More than a decade ago, he coined the term, “Who needs Milk?” PT is credited with creating “crapwagon,” which he used quite liberally back in the day. A car he said he would never drive. Graham Rahal had a “Don’t drink the kool aid. St. Pete.,” sticker on his car (or showcar) at the last Champ Car race at Long Beach. This was right after he won at St. Pete in his first IndyCar race. At the time, the Series was really promoting his win. Why are these relevant to RHR’s situation? They all actively sought to undermine the sport and the people marketing it. If they were this vocal publicly, it safe to say that this was part of their marketing pitch to sponsors. They made attracting sponsors to the Series more difficult. They all did their fair share to belittle the Indy 500. The split is over, but the ramification of their actions lingers on.
I have thought about this a lot over the course of the past few days. There is the Indianapolis 500 and there is the IndyCar Series. What is best for one is not always best for the other. Bruno deserves his spot in the Indianapolis 500. Ryan earned his ride in IndyCar. He worked very hard to attract these sponsors. He succeeded in attracting two that don’t have historical roots in the Series. What’s best in this situation isn’t clear to me because I am a fan of the Indy 500 and the IndyCar Series. It sets a bad example to allow people to buy into the Indy 500, but it sets a bad precedent to lose a fully funded ride in the IndyCar Series.
I’m sure that clause helped them land the sponsors. There’s nothing shady about it. The sponsors don’t want to assume all of the risk. The people signing these contracts are accountable for their decisions. They want to sell their product or service to a national audience, not gamble with their marketing dollars and their own employment. There are 12 races left on the IndyCar Series calendar, we need Ryan at those races. The cities and tracks hosting these races need Ryan in the lineup. His engineers and the PR people at Andretti Autosport need him. The worst thing would be Ryan & Bruno sitting at home for the remainder of the season. Bruno knows what’s going on. He sees the big picture. More people in the paddock need to show support and stop flaming the fire.
It’s easy for me to say this could have been handled differently, but I don’t know. It’s unclear if Bruno’s car was sponsored. AJ Foyt may have put ABC Supply, on the car as a good jester and then financed it out of his own pocket. Contracts are binding agreements; one cannot simply transfer a paint job and say we met our obligation.
It’s funny, but everyone wants to change the qualifying rule book. I think we need to look at the way we attract sponsors. Sponsors need to see value in the entire IndyCar season, not just the Indy 500. Should we require notification, of these types of contractual agreements, with IndyCar? Realistically, they should know if a driver’s future ride is contingent on them making the Indy 500. That in itself creates a conflict of interest. Maybe, it’s better to make these types of agreements against the rules. If you do that, it will be much harder to attract sponsors. In this day and age, sponsors are vital to the health and well being of the sport. Unfortunately, clauses like this might be needed because we’re trying to overcome the venom of the past.
While I fully appreciate everyone’s outrage, I can’t help but think that the overall representation by those expressing their feelings are a pretty large minority.
Jake Query brought up a good point on Twitter today in talking about how many Indy500 winners (I think it was of the last 20 years), if they walked down a NYC street would be recognized.
Sadly, IndyCar has been in a deep decline for almost 2 decades now. New management are trying to bring in the excitement and drama and they are just about there, but TV ratings are still in the dumper (if they are even SHARED by IndyCar) and this will always be a sport of personalities.
While everyone is outraged at “buying the ride”, there are drivers who have to do this on a weekly basis just to be in IndyCar. If they aren’t bringing in the money, then most owners don’t even want to talk to them. My god, we had to suffer for what, three years with Milka but she brought money.
I really do HATE that this has happened. Bruno is a good competitor and drives hard. But will people boo RHR, AJ or the AA team? maybe but only a very few who will even know what happened today. The majority of people go for the history and traditions of the sport (be they good or bad) and don’t get caught up in all of the family feuding.
Lastly, if any driver ever wanted to try the double again there’s always the chance that they’d have to have a back-up driver ready to start the Coca-Cola 600 and then swap out. Yes, I know it’s not the same thing, as this would be known in advance and out in the open but alas, both race circuits view the CAR as the entrant and who drives it, while important, is ancillary.
“While I fully appreciate everyone’s outrage, I can’t help but think that the overall representation by those expressing their feelings are a pretty large minority.”
If by minority you mean a minority of society at large, then certainly — INDYCAR fans make up a distressingly small percentage of the population. But if you mean that the minority of the fan base is expressing outrage, then I need to disagree with you completely. Outrage is all I’ve seen from nearly every fan of the sport in the last 24 hours.
Since this is a sponsor driven decision, I believe that the sponsors involved need to pause and consider a question. Which course of action influences your marketing more: lack of exposure at the Indianapolis 500 or negative backlash of purchasing participation in this manner. If it is just a matter of exposure, there is space on cars available to them without all the controversy of replacing drivers.
I agree with your point 100% and we as consumers have no more power than by voting with our money. No SunDrop or DHL for me. I encourage fans of the Indy500 to also NOT purchases the services of these companies or their related companies (Dr Pepper Snapple Group)
I’m neither happy nor surprised by this. I may be behind on my understanding of the rules but I thought that Indy500 rules were always such that it was the car that qualified – not the driver. So, why not just let a handful of superstar drivers qualify all the cars and then the owners can sell the seats to the highest bidder?
Is that what I want? Nope. But, Indy500 has its own rules and always has had.
Personally, I hate the whole “single car qualifying” without any exceptions. It’s bogus, artificial, and boring. The cars don’t race all by themselves on the track so why qualify like that? It’s just dumb. I can live with some qualifying in groups – still artificial but, I can live with it. One car at a time on a huge track like Indy is just a snooze fest. Besides the whole “draw” thing that puts some cars out during optimal conditions and others out there under less than optimal – how is that fair?
Well, OK…I mean, I’ll follow the race no matter what because I love the racing but, I’m already tired of oval races for IndyCars. Can’t wait until they get back to proper race tracks.
I fully understand the car qualifies, not the driver, however, I can’t recall an instance when the driver was booted AFTER successfully qualifying without a pre-arrangement AND simply because another team wanted their driver AND sponsors in the race… with one exception, Alex Tagliani and Bruno in 09.
It stunk then and it really stinks this time as Andretti appears to not be anywhere near the financial straits as Conquest was two years ago. If they are, then it’s down to very poor management in which case they should at the very least have the integrity enough to accept their fate by not having qualified legitimately.
Guess not, then eh? OK. AA, Don’t be surprised if I don’t like your wriggling antics, your sponsors, your merchandise. You know how fans are, if they like what you do, they’ll tell 10 people, if they don’t, they’ll tell everyone.
OK…don’t buy SunDrop or ship DHL if you want. That leaves 2 great sponsors out in the cold and sends shivers down the spine of anyone else that wants to support INDYCAR. You end up with 18 cars in the field next year.
I know I’m clearly in the small minority, but racing is a business and this was just a business deal. I hate it, hate it, hate it for Bruno who is a class act all around. But, Foyt gets a good influx of cash to keep his operation going (and hopefully get Vitor into Victory Lane which he so richly deserves), RHR gets in the show and can continue to raise money and awareness for cancer research, Andretti gets two huge sponsors into the show so they can hopefully continue their relationship for years to come, ABC Supply gets some good exposure because they’ll show the car more now than they would otherwise, SunDrop and DHL gets some exposure in the race and on TV so they can get some return on their investment.
Sure it’s not a win all the way around, but as far as business decisions go, it makes a lot of sense. I’ll grab some SunDrop next time I’m at the store to support them and hope they will continue to support racing.
Those of us attending the 500 live can at least let loose with the loudest collection of boos ever heard by man when the 41 car is introduced.
I am disappointed by todays news, however it can serve as one more opportunity for Randy to take control and make the right decision. Obviously, it is too late this year….but close the loophole that allows such a deal. I can see allowing swapping drivers within a team…but not outside of your team.
Our sport and certainly Indy and its qualifying traditions rely on the integrity to be put back in. Do the right thing Randy…..close this loophole now!!
From a business perspective, I understand why the deal was made. From a fan/emotional perspective-which I usually don’t hold-I am disgusted.
I didn’t have a whole lot of respect for Andretti Autosport before-primarily because of some of their hirings-and I have even less respect for them now. I still respect A.J. Foyt as a driver. As a team owner? Not so much anymore.
Unlike certain individuals on some message boards, I am not going to equate RHR, AA and AJF with murderers, nor am I hoping that RHR crashes in the race; I never root against any INDYCAR driver or team-well, maybe one-but neither am I going to root for either team. It will be very interesting to see what kind of reaction RHR, AJF, the AA drivers and Vitor Meira get when they are introduced on Sunday. I imagine there will be some boos mixed in with cheers for all of them.
[…] into the Field: The Silver Lining The following thoughts were born from a comment that I posted on MoreFrontWing.com. From my original post, I have made changes to enhance readability, correct grammatical errors and […]
A few points not mentioned:
In this deal, AA also bought Danica and Marco each one position in the starting grid.
AJF traded 19th position for 33rd. Seems winning the race isn’t as important to this owner. So what did he really make from this deal that we haven’t been told?
Thankfully, the 13 ‘other’ cars behind Bruno’s qualifying spot get to move up one position. There will be some happier teams out on the track on Sunday! Good for them, maybe they will send some flowers to AA/AJF… or toast them with some milk:)
One more point:
Look at how Roger Penske handled not qualifying for Indy in 1995, with class and dignity (The year that saw Jacques Villeneuve win, even after being penalized for passing the pace car).
Ironically, Michael Andretti kissed the wall and didn’t finish that race…
Karma, anyone?
To borrow from Charles Barkley after Team USA stomped some eastern European national basketball team in the Barcelona Olympics by 50 or more points, only to have that team whine and moan about officiating ” Why don’t they just take their ass whoopin’ and go home? ” Well, Ryan and Michael, why don’t you take YOUR ass whoopin’ and go home? I’m disappointed in AA for buying a ride and I’m disappointed in AJ for selling a ride. But I’m very proud of race fans who have been vocal in expressing their outrage over this sad turn of events. When RHR gets showered with boos (and he will) on Sunday it will be well-deserved.