Accessibility in IndyCar: Why Thermal Has Tremendous Pushback

Almost a month after the second ever Thermal Club GP, there is still an enormous amount of conversation about the event.

Though I will agree that there needs to be a little grace still for the broadcast, I disagree with the message that IndyCar is sending. On top of that, the message is a bit muddled. It all boils down to 'stop criticizing us and let us race', which is unfair to actual constructive criticism. Without feedback, nothing can grow and develop, and the feedback is fair. Racing at this level is entertainment, and there are things that need to be developed that aren't just the broadcast going out.

After watching 'Off Track', I do not disagree with James Hinchcliffe's message about needing to put the past in the past and be at tracks that are exciting, accessible and will be interesting to both new and old fans. He made valid points about street tracks, but his point about street tracks was mainly about Formula 1 and how IndyCar can learn from that.

But Thermal isn't a street track, so why does it get a pass? It seems that the IndyCar press machine has made it clear over the past month that Thermal is here to stay. Yet there is no clarification as to why, and it's giving the machine pushback that they do not seem to like.

Herein lies the rub, folks. While I do agree that we don't need to bang on about TMS and Watkins Glen, I do think we need to talk about tracks and their accessibility, because that's the underlying component as to why people are so frustrated.

Part of the beauty of IndyCar is accessibility. IndyCar is all about accessibility, in a way that Formula 1 is not.

IndyCar cares about its fans in a way that's tangible; the ticket prices aren't outrageous, a paddock pass isn't equivalent to a student loan, there are even autograph days so you can go meet your driver and get their signature. They want you to feel included on the race weekends, and if you pay money to be there, you're getting your money's worth. They're also looking for places to be that are easy to get to but not somewhere with a lot of congestion, so people can come and go and not be stuck in a gridlock of four to six hours for the average race. The 500 is excluded from this somewhat, but it's still Indianapolis.

If IndyCar is inclusivity, Formula 1 is exclusivity. Formula 1 has an ongoing elitism issue, and that's abundantly clear in how it is marketed and promoted in the US. The States is a market that F1 has been desperate to break into, they are unable to go over the hump because at these street tracks they're favoring, the prices are astronomical. Even at COTA, prices for the average grandstand are equivalent to luxury accommodation at an IndyCar event. On top of that, you pay for the privilege to park, where comparable events at IndyCar put the parking pass into a ticket that high.

As someone who went to and enjoyed the Las Vegas Grand Prix, it was because I lucked out and got an incredible deal on tickets and was able to sell my original seats (thank you MasterCard). It wasn't because they were organically affordable, it wasn't because F1 made it easy to get involved. I got lucky and was able to use the money that I'd spent on tickets to actually go out and enjoy Las Vegas. I also did my research and found events I wanted to go through on social media, not directly from F1. There weren't events that were easy to access at the GP; the one thing I wanted to do before the racing settled in I missed because of poor planning on the event's part. On top of that, I live on the East Coast and Las Vegas was still more accessible to me than Miami.

With that, we turn to the event that is still causing waves.

I do think part of the reason the conversation is ongoing is because there has been a month between races, but that's not the point. The exclusivity of the race and the lackluster broadcast are the point.

Last year, Thermal was billed as an All Star Race, and it filled valuable blank space on the calendar. It had limited tickets because it was in a country club, but because it was for money only and not points, it wasn't as important for fans to pay attention. An All-Star race at a private track makes sense.

This year, it was for points, and so more fans paid attention.

Therefore, there was a lot more pushback. Which, the longer I think about it, it makes so much sense. Thermal is held at Thermal Country Club on a private track; country clubs are and always have been about exclusivity and luxury items not available to the public. This is the antithesis of IndyCar. Fans want to go and see the race, to engage in the community.

Thermal does not want outside community inside of their private property. I do understand that the people at the club have invested a lot of money into making it possible to race there. I also understand that people spend a lot of money to be members at country clubs. But a race for points seems ridiculous, because they're not able to offer the entire IndyCar experience, nor does Thermal want to.

In a way, this is the issue that F1 has in the US but in reverse. IndyCar doesn't have an elitism problem. In fact, the transition to FOX Sports is giving them even more of a market. When it was previously with NBC, it was a gamble to be able to find it. Now it's front and center on a channel you can get with bunny ears or a Tubi account. So, stepping into something that creates exclusivity will cause waves because it's mixed messaging. Either you want people to show up or you don't.

Exclusivity is not why people watch IndyCar. They don't want their drivers treated like idols on pedestals. They want to go to a race weekend and engage with sponsors and see activations and see their drivers. Get pictures, see some racing, maybe even go to a state fair if that's the easiest bet. They do not want to feel unwelcome.

While I do think keeping Thermal on the calendar as an All Star race is a good idea, especially to fill the gap, I do think that's its place. This is not the place to try out new things, because it's not what fans want. As someone who is actively considering going back to the Las Vegas Grand Prix, I do see the merit of giving an event time to grow. I just don't think this event should be the priority for IndyCar to develop at this point in time.