Ken Hudgens (COO of Feld Motor Sports) has expressed his interest in IndyCar VP

[jcmark611]

During Robin Miller's segment on "Speed Freaks" radio tonight, the host (Crash) mentioned that Ken Hudgens has expressed an interest in the VP of IndyCar job. I say, MAKE THIS HAPPEN! Monster Jam and Supercross fill stadiums, so this guy knows what it takes to get a crowd to a single day event. He knows how to get the young crowd to events too. No offense to most of you guys, but you're not getting any younger, and every year that goes by just means you mean less and less to advertisers and sponsors.

So go out and spread the word, Ken Hudgens should be the VP of Marketing for IndyCar.

[David_Skywalker]

Monster Jam is fun, but Monster Jam is not real racing. This guy has to understand what IndyCar is and not turn it into NASCAR 2.0, they tried that already.

[aeros71]

I agree David.

However, Feld Entertainment also owns the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey circus, and bringing Ken in would be perfect because many people have been saying the Indy Car series has been a circus for years now...

[jcmark611]

Monster Jam is fun, but Monster Jam is not real racing. This guy has to understand what IndyCar is and not turn it into NASCAR 2.0, they tried that already.

Supercross is real racing, and he manages that as well. Besides, he will have Walker there to keep him from changing the rule of the game.

A good marketer will not change the game, he'll just figure out how to get more people watching.

[mdkiel]

No offense to most of you guys, but you're not getting any younger...

Pssst: Neither are you...

[ACCP]

Monster Jam is fun, but Monster Jam is not real racing. This guy has to understand what IndyCar is and not turn it into NASCAR 2.0, they tried that already.

Well, it's not rigged, but it's far more show than sport, I will give you that.

IndyCar has much to learn from Monster Jam and Supercross, however, where the series are largely package deals and promotion is handled in-house. Feld organizes every event, negotiates with the venues, and gets the direct profits. Every event uses the same ads, has the same tag lines, has the same sponsors, etc. It's a far different business model from what IndyCar does now, and it has various risks but it also has various rewards. If Hudgens were to become VP, it would be nice to see the series at least explore the idea of using this model for itself, since it would provide stability and a unified voice for promotions, as well as giving them more leeway in scheduling.

[jp]

MAKE THIS HAPPEN! Monster Jam and Supercross fill stadiums, so this guy knows what it takes to get a crowd to a single day event.

Sounds likes Randy Bernard 2.0

[ACCP]

I should mention that the other thing Feld is really good at is making stars. Supercross is a sport where the top level guys are very transient - their window for success is just a few years and they are "over the hill" by the time they're 30 - and yet Villopoto, Reed, Stewart...everyone seems to know who these guys are. That would bode well for IndyCar, where guys like Kanaan can be around for a couple of decades (Monster Jam is a different kettle of fish since the trucks are the stars and not the drivers, though by the same token I think a lot of people know who Dennis Anderson and Tom Meents are by this point).

I have a bunch of other thoughts, but I'm going to take them to the business forum.

[flyfishin]

No one in gen y knows those monster truck driver you mentioned . Most people I know that go to monster jam just go for the irony and the chance to dress up like a ******* and get wasted. I don't want Indycar associated with anything like that


i would say villopoto and Stewart are about as known as franchitti or kanaan

[WillMazeo]

IndyCar goal is to keep the cars on the ground. :P

[ACCP]

Nobody from gen Y, but plenty from gen Z...

[jcmark611]

No one in gen y knows those monster truck driver you mentioned . Most people I know that go to monster jam just go for the irony and the chance to dress up like a ******* and get wasted. I don't want Indycar associated with anything like that


i would say villopoto and Stewart are about as known as franchitti or kanaan

But many an 8 year old boy knows what Grave Digger is, and that's another audience IndyCar needs.

[767]

A few have touched on it, but Felds biggest sucess is turning people into super stars in a very short amount of time. With monster jam it is all about the truck. They push the truck all the time. With silly season becoming more an dmore crazy, maybe this model would work for indy car. Promote the teams. You have the 2 historical teams that are big rivals Penske (Grave Digger been around the longest and has had more sucess). Then Ganassi (Max D not as must history, but won more is short amount of time). The monster jam model, does not matter who drives the truck, these 2 a fierce rivals. Plenty to advertise this with.

Now the one other thing that feld/mj does well is align drivers with series sponsors. Example ( they have 5 different sponsors, they go through there driver pool and align driver personality with the sponsor). So now standard series sponsors are promoting drivers in TV commercials and at sponsor events. MJ/Feld plays these commercials at all of there events. There is alot Indycar could learn just from the stand point of marketing there drivers.

[Fro]

Sounds likes Randy Bernard 2.0

Supercross is a lot closer to IndyCar than the Bull Riders were. Also you have Walker in place to handle the stuff with the teams to where Hudgens can just do his thing and promote.

[Z28]

Well, it's not rigged, but it's far more show than sport, I will give you that.

IndyCar has much to learn from Monster Jam and Supercross, however, where the series are largely package deals and promotion is handled in-house. Feld organizes every event, negotiates with the venues, and gets the direct profits. Every event uses the same ads, has the same tag lines, has the same sponsors, etc. It's a far different business model from what IndyCar does now, and it has various risks but it also has various rewards. If Hudgens were to become VP, it would be nice to see the series at least explore the idea of using this model for itself, since it would provide stability and a unified voice for promotions, as well as giving them more leeway in scheduling.

Well let's say that with a much younger audience they aren't as knowledgeable to see or as cynical to accuse it of being rigged as an older jaded crowd. Admitted I don't follow the bikes or trunk stadium shows but I do recognize the big names in the bikes, maybe due to Despain and WT and the late great Speed Report. I do know that when Mickey Thompson started the stadium shows it was a completely new idea and it still works.

Just my opinion, best of all would be the Feld group just buying the Indycar series. Hiring the COO would be second provided he was allowed to make some of the deep substantive changes in the business model towards what they do with the stadium shows. Miles hinted that he was looking at some revenue sharing so maybe he's open to it. First would be taking the promotion in house and using the uniform approach to all the events. This would solve one of the major problems I see in INDYCAR, with so many different promoters of the races they are treated as individual events by each promoter and there no continuity of it being one series. NASCAR has far more connectivity in its' events, mainly because ISC and SMI own so many tracks but with INDYCAR not having that it would have to find another way.


Some here instantly don't like any change, don't want to be like anybody else. If you have this deep affection for being small, unprofitable with no growth potential in sight, then you don't want to change INDYCAR one bit. If there's a way to even start getting this ball rolling DO IT before it shrinks any more.


And did Miller club these guys for scooping him on this new outside guy being approached when he never mentioned him? Or did he claim he'd heard that but it was hidden under his seat cushion until the right time?