No bull: New IRL leader driven to thrive
The reinvigorated Indy Racing League makes its first run this weekend at Barber Motorsports Park, a NASCAR hotbed about 40 miles from Talladega, Ala.
It will be the third race under the direction of new IRL chief executive Randy Bernard, the man who guided the Professional Bull Riders organization into a solid position in mainstream sports entertainment.
The IndyCar Series has gotten off to a fast start with clothing company Izod as its first series title sponsor in eight years and Danica Patrick's overhyped foray into NASCAR racing that helped gain exposure for the IndyCar brand.
But its bigger boost will come from Bernard, who started March 1.
With all the politics involving American open-wheel racing in the past two decades, the perfect leader is a guy who spent 15 years slogging through bull crap.
Bernard played a pivotal -- if not the most pivotal -- role in packing big arenas with folks watching cowboys trying to ride bulls for eight seconds. If he could do that, there's no reason he can't help IndyCar get back on American racing's radar. It never will catch NASCAR, but just getting on the same lap with stock-car racing's bandwagon would be a major accomplishment.
Bernard is the polar opposite of Tony George, who started the IRL in 1994 and was fired by his family last year.
George was born into fame and fortune as part of Indianapolis' noted Hulman-George family that owns Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the IRL.
Bernard comes from modest means and grew up in California around a Western lifestyle. In his heart, he'll never trade in his boots for Gucci loafers.
It's largely because of Bernard's passion and drive that the PBR has been nominated for Professional Sports League of the Year by the 2010 Sports Business Awards, presented by Street & Smith's publications. The other nominees are Major League Baseball, the NBA and the NFL.
The winner will be announced May 20 in New York City. Simply having the PBR on a list with those traditional sports leagues is impressive enough.
Bernard never had attended an IndyCar race until the opener last month in Brazil, but he also never rode a bull.
"People ask me all the time, 'Are you in competition with NASCAR or F1?' And I say, 'We're in competition with any entertainment,' " he said.
What Bernard learned from the meteoric growth of the PBR bodes well for IndyCar racing.
If Bernard can successfully promote and sell cowboys and bulls, then racers shouldn't be a problem.
Bernard has been taking a crash course in racing. But to succeed in his new venture, he doesn't need to know how to build an engine, recite the winners of past Indy 500s or help Helio Castroneves find his line around a track.
What Bernard knows is how to carve a niche in the sports entertainment market and excite fans once they show up.
Bernard's approach will be new to the IRL's oval office.
"I'll listen to anybody, and I will make decisions that I think are in the best interest of taking our sport to the next level," he said.
His lifelong exposure to the courteous ways of Western culture will be an asset.
And that's no bull.
The reinvigorated Indy Racing League makes its first run this weekend at Barber Motorsports Park, a NASCAR hotbed about 40 miles from Talladega, Ala.
It will be the third race under the direction of new IRL chief executive Randy Bernard, the man who guided the Professional Bull Riders organization into a solid position in mainstream sports entertainment.
The IndyCar Series has gotten off to a fast start with clothing company Izod as its first series title sponsor in eight years and Danica Patrick's overhyped foray into NASCAR racing that helped gain exposure for the IndyCar brand.
But its bigger boost will come from Bernard, who started March 1.
With all the politics involving American open-wheel racing in the past two decades, the perfect leader is a guy who spent 15 years slogging through bull crap.
Bernard played a pivotal -- if not the most pivotal -- role in packing big arenas with folks watching cowboys trying to ride bulls for eight seconds. If he could do that, there's no reason he can't help IndyCar get back on American racing's radar. It never will catch NASCAR, but just getting on the same lap with stock-car racing's bandwagon would be a major accomplishment.
Bernard is the polar opposite of Tony George, who started the IRL in 1994 and was fired by his family last year.
George was born into fame and fortune as part of Indianapolis' noted Hulman-George family that owns Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the IRL.
Bernard comes from modest means and grew up in California around a Western lifestyle. In his heart, he'll never trade in his boots for Gucci loafers.
It's largely because of Bernard's passion and drive that the PBR has been nominated for Professional Sports League of the Year by the 2010 Sports Business Awards, presented by Street & Smith's publications. The other nominees are Major League Baseball, the NBA and the NFL.
The winner will be announced May 20 in New York City. Simply having the PBR on a list with those traditional sports leagues is impressive enough.
Bernard never had attended an IndyCar race until the opener last month in Brazil, but he also never rode a bull.
"People ask me all the time, 'Are you in competition with NASCAR or F1?' And I say, 'We're in competition with any entertainment,' " he said.
What Bernard learned from the meteoric growth of the PBR bodes well for IndyCar racing.
If Bernard can successfully promote and sell cowboys and bulls, then racers shouldn't be a problem.
Bernard has been taking a crash course in racing. But to succeed in his new venture, he doesn't need to know how to build an engine, recite the winners of past Indy 500s or help Helio Castroneves find his line around a track.
What Bernard knows is how to carve a niche in the sports entertainment market and excite fans once they show up.
Bernard's approach will be new to the IRL's oval office.
"I'll listen to anybody, and I will make decisions that I think are in the best interest of taking our sport to the next level," he said.
His lifelong exposure to the courteous ways of Western culture will be an asset.
And that's no bull.
