IndyCar Rebranded

In the same announcement that saw the 2011 IndyCar schedule revealed, another change was revealed.

In 1994, Tony George split from CART, forming the Indy Racing League. Before the start of the 2008 season, the remnants of both series merged back together under the IRL banner. During "The Split" as it's affectionately been named, IndyCar racing fell from a state of being nearly the most popular form of motorsport in the world, second only to Formula 1 on a global scale, and actually attracting Formula 1 drivers to it, to confused fans not knowing which side to follow, and generally following NASCAR instead.

The terms Indy Racing League and IRL has beleaguered many fans who stayed on the CART (which eventually became Champ Car) side, and Randy Bernard, IndyCar CEO, has acknowledged this. Starting with the 2011 season, the sanctioning body of the IZOD IndyCar Series and the Firestone Indy Lights will be known as IndyCar. Fans world over know the style of racing as IndyCar, and hopefully, this will bring many of them back.

Also, based on the press conference, I have to infer that more of the sport's history will be included. The IRL always treated their races as the only IndyCar races ever, and doesn't account for previous decades of history. For instance, Scott Dixon is listed as the winningest IndyCar driver with 23 wins, when the actual record belongs to Mario Andretti with 52. I can only hope this inference is correct, because I cringe during race broadcasts when it is claimed that Scott Dixon has won the most IndyCar races and that Sam Hornish Jr. has led the most laps in IndyCar competition. There's a good 80 years of history they've been neglecting.

Bernard hasn't been in charge for 12 months yet, and he's already making fantastic changes. He is the former CEO of Professional Bull Riding, and brought it from the little mom & pop run event to the media conglomerate it is now. Hopefully he continues to listen to fans and make the proper decisions in growing IndyCar back to its original status and hopefully toppling NASCAR. (Side note - did you know we are the only nation that takes stock car racing seriously? Because we are. It's a joke everywhere else. It's a sign of a BAD DRIVER to race stock cars.)