IndyCar struggling to make new generation of drivers household names like the icons of old

This roars of the anonymity under which IndyCar drivers mostly compete:

Mario Andretti, being celebrated at ISM Raceway before Saturday evening's Desert Diamond West Valley Casino Phoenix Grand Prix, remains far better known than any current series racer a quarter-century after that 1993 checkered flag at what was Phoenix International Raceway signaled his 52nd and last victory.

That's "grossly unfair," Andretti admits.

It is, however, an unfortunate truth: Recent champions Scott Dixon, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Sebastien Bourdais, Simon Pagenaud and Will Power don't glisten in the spotlight reserved for national sports celebrity heroes. Andretti, A.J. Foyt, the Unsers, Johnny Rutherford, Rick Mears, Tom Sneva and others did before the wreck that was two rival open-wheel tours from 1996 until 2008.

Now IndyCar -- much like NASCAR -- is rolling out an under-30 class of drivers, led by Josef Newgarden, last year's champion. Yet it's an unlucky reflection of the series' challenges, which include participation by more young Americans, that some who read or hear Newgarden's name assume he's European.

Not so. Newgarden comes from NASCAR country, Hendersonville, Tenn.

New names

Robert Wickens, Spencer Pigot, Matheus Leist, Zach Veach and Kyle Kaiser are some of the names likely unfamiliar to Valley racegoers. IndyCar needs at least a few of them to emerge not only as race winners, but also exciting TV performers, media charmers, ticket-sellers, and effective salesmen for the products and services offered by corporate sponsors.

But while the NASCAR industry is heavy promoting Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Alex Bowman, William Byron, Daniel Suarez and Erik Jones, the organization that also owns the Indianapolis 500 appears to be laps behind.

"We're investing as we can," said IndyCar CEO Mark Miles, former head of Indianapolis' Super Bowl host committee and the ATP men's tennis tour. "Overall, our marketing and advertising spends are up some. I don't know if you would think of it as significant. The great bulk of that is digital, which gives us a better ability to focus on individual drivers.

"I think we're making progress and this could be a real breakout year for the next generation. They've arrived as drivers and begin to get to the next level for notoriety."

Getting there would seen to be a long road. Verizon, IndyCar's fourth title sponsor in 20 years, is exiting at season's end. The ABC TV audience for the March 11 season opener on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., was 1.14 million. That same day, NASCAR at ISM Raceway averaged 4.6 million viewers on Fox. Proving again the power of superstardom, an on-the-leaderboard Tiger Woods drew 6.9 million watchers for the PGA Tour's Valspar Championship on NBC.

A cautionary tale

If IndyCar's marketers had tried to design an ideal driver to become its public face, they couldn't have done much better than Hunter-Reay.

The athletic Floridian earned the 2012 series title. Two years later, Hunter-Reay made one of the most audacious winning passes anyone’s pulled off in the Indianapolis 500's century of racing, a breath-taking inside-line pass of Helio Castroneves in the closing laps. His aggressive style is crowd-pleasing -- watch him on restarts Saturday evening -- and complements an engaging personality who interacts well with fans, media and sponsors DHL, Butterball (who features him in a TV commercial) and Honda.

Yet, that victory didn't resonate much beyond Indiana.

"I wish they (IndyCar) would have used me a lot more after winning the championship and the Indy 500," Hunter-Reay said. "I told them I was willing and more than able to get out there.

"We have a lot of improving to do in that regard. We have some great personalities behind the wheel of these cars. I wish more people knew that."

Next stars?

Tony Kanaan, IndyCar's most popular driver -- especially with Castroneves having been shifted to team owner Roger Penske's new Acura program in the IMSA sports car series -- likely is in his last couple of seasons at age 43.

As Kanaan and Castroneves marked their 20th IndyCar season last year, Kanaan said: "Tony and Helio will have to go away for (young drivers) to actually grow (in popularity.) As long as we're here, we're going to steal (fans) from them."

So who are some top candidates to Make IndyCar Rate Again?

Newgarden (No. 1 Verizon Chevrolet): After gaining five years' experience for smaller teams, Newgarden, 27, was signed by Penske to take over for Juan Pablo Montoya. Calm and friendly but unafraid to make bold moves, he responded with four victories and the championship. To win on the oval near St. Louis, Newgarden dove under Pagenaud entering Turn 1, bumping his teammate and forcing him to slow.

"Josef seems to have caught a lot of people’s eye," Penske said. "We have to do as NASCAR is. We have to promote people who can make a difference.

"It’s going to take time to build these names. The Andretti name didn’t happen overnight. To me, it's going to have to be someone who stands out."

Newgarden agrees IndyCar needs to "create stars. I'm never shy to help out. NASCAR is pushing their new generation and . . . we're going through a very similar transition."

His mother is Danish so "that's a little of where the (first name) spelling comes from."

"I've had more people recently tell me that their kids' names are spelled the same as mine. I guess all we can do is try to make J-O-S-E-F a cool name in America."

Graham Rahal (No. 15 One Cure Honda): At 19, the son of 1986 Indy 500 winner and three-time champion Bobby Rahal, became the youngest IndyCar race winner in 2008. A decade later he was on the road for almost 270 days last year, most of it promotional work, meeting potential sponsors and watching wife Courtney Force race in NHRA.

"The sport needs to continue to do a better job of promoting the young names," said the outgoing Rahal, who won twice in 2017. "I think the drivers have to promote. I do it but I see a lot of guys who, when the weekend is over, go home and hang out. I'd like to do that but it's not going to help me build my brand or businesses.

"You've got to be on the gas at all times. Sometimes, I'm on it a little too much."

Alexander Rossi (No. 27 MilitaryToMotorsports.com Honda): The upset winner of the 100th Indy 500 in 2016, Rossi, 26, says outreaching to possible new fans is "something I'm taking quite an interest in as my obligation as one of the young American guys."

Rossi was a contestant on the CBS' reality series "The Amazing Race" and hosts a podcast with fellow driver James Hinchcliffe, 31, whose own profile has risen with a series of Honda TV commercials.

"You have to convey your passion for the sport," Rossi said. "I've found if you get someone to the racetrack, they become a fan. I had a perfect experience with this. I hated hockey. I thought it was boring to watch on TV. I went to a game and thought, 'All right, that's pretty badass.' I came back."

Rossi's off-track personality is reserved. On-track he can be much more assertive. Rossi bumped leader Wickens trying to pass on the next-to-last lap of the season-opener in St. Petersburg, Fla., opening the way for Bourdais to win.

Ed Jones (No. 10 NTT Data Honda): Last season's top rookie finished third in his first Indy 500 and became Dixon's teammate at Chip Ganassi Racing. From Dubai, UAE, he's 23, the 2016 Indy Lights series titlist and understands his position in a high-profile team will attract increased attention -- and scrutiny.

"I do everything I can to get involved with the fans," said Jones. "IndyCar, compared to other series, is a lot more fan friendly. My natural way is I'm very relaxed and take things as they come. I don't get phased by that. I must be doing something right if I get more attention."

Others who IndyCar insiders have hopes for are: Wickens, the 29-year-old Canadian who won the St. Petersburg street course pole position and led the most laps in his first-ever start; Pigot, 24, of Orlando, who has advanced from a partial schedule to full-time in Ed Carpenter Racing's Fuzzy's Vodka Chevrolet; and Veach, 23, who has shown promise in various developmental series, in a Michael Andretti-owned Honda. Marco Andretti, Michael's son and Mario's grandson, is now 31 with only two wins in 12 seasons, the most recent in 2011.

The NASCAR way

"The business model in NASCAR has always been the drivers are their stars," said Lyn St. James, the retired driver and motorsports activist who lives in Phoenix. "The business model in sports cars has always been the cars are their stars. The business model in IndyCar has struggled.

"The business model that IndyCar needs to set is that our drivers are our stars. I've seen examples, but they are still not totally committed to that."

Miles insists: "We will build name ID.

"We subscribe to services that give you data about those things and more of our drivers are up marginally. There is some progress, the direction is right, but we have greater ambitions.”

Raceway President Bryan Sperber says increasing recognition of young drivers is "very important for IndyCar and NASCAR.

"We're in this transition period when a lot of household names have retired. Iconic figures. The new drivers coming in have exciting personalities and are driving the cars hard.

"It takes a little time to introduce those personalities to the fans and for the fans to get behind them. But we're already seeing it."

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