[VRR][B-SPEC] 2016 Straight Talk IndyCar Series Season

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News Reporter: Stephanie Porter-Kelley got a 9th place today here in Kentucky. Not bad considering and you are still very much in the title hunt. How was the race in the car?
Stephanie Porter-Kelley: The race was pretty difficult to climb from the back. It wasn't unexpected, we had some pretty scary moments, but we survived and got into the top 10 with some strategy.
News Reporter: This race saw double file restarts for the second time this season, and unlike in Homestead, it drew criticism here. You've been on both sides of the double file. What was your opinion?
Stephanie Porter-Kelley: My opinion hasn't changed. It gives those that are a lap down the ability to race back on the lead lap, which means everything at the ovals. I like the way VRR has it, where it only happens on the 1.5 mile tracks and the superspeedways outside of Indy. It brings more competitiveness to the races, and that's what the fans want to see. They don't come to see a FICA snoozefest, so I think VRR is on the right side of the line here.
News Reporter: Rumors are running rampant that Bosnia will be getting a race next year. Any news?
Stephanie Porter-Kelley: Not really. VRR has more than I do.
News Reporter: Mid-Ohio next weekend. How ready are you for another road course?
Stephanie Porter-Kelley: Very. We get to settle into our comfort zone before Indy. Next weekend is going to be critical for us.
 
Angel Porter sits tied for 27th in the driver's championship standings, and with just one top 10 in 7 races, she's run out of patience with the current status quo. "There isn't a good way to look at any of this. Between Chevrolet having terrible reliability, and the entire team being inconsistent, it's really difficult to keep our heads up. We're heading back home for my home race. Hopefully we get something to be proud of there."
 
The points standings got me like:
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Kunimitsu Kino****a spent most of the FurAffinity Indy 300 behind pit lane, retiring early from an engine failure. "We took a risk and decided to push our engine further. The engine we attempted to use we had used at Homestead and Motegi as well, and we wanted to see how much mileage we could get before we got to Indianapolis." It is also believed that this race would set Camyron Jackson, Steven Gnash, and Henna Venalainen on fresh engines for Indianapolis with herself and Sakura Ishibashi who will make her series debut at the Brickyard next month.
 
VRR COO Jacob Lewis has come out publicly to state that if St. Pete does not make the calendar in 2017, Daytona will not be the venue to replace it. "We are putting our negotiations with the track officials of St. Pete before making test reservations at Daytona. If Daytona were to join the calendar, it's still two years out." He said while preparing to leave Kentucky Speedway Sunday night. "We'd be more likely to race at Sebring if talks fell out." He also discussed the rumors of Bosnia and Bahrain getting a race, especially with the rumor that Sarajevo International Circuit has finished construction. "Sakhir and Sarajevo are competing for the same race slot that Nurburgring, Hungaroring, Shanghai, Mexico City, and Silverstone are competing for. We have Brno in a contract for several years, and with that race already sold out, we aren't going to give them up. Barcelona has a three year contract, and only they can pull out of that contract. So we have a lot of world class venues battling for that last international race date. We won't have an announcement until Fontana, so everyone should just relax and wait."
 
Alex Rivera "We needed that! Could of had a Top 5 but we made one bad change on a long run and that hurt us. It's a Top 10 though.
 
NBCSN: "Another race and another DNF for Camyron Jackson. Was there any warning that it was about to go?
Jackson: It was all sudden. It was just fine before and I had no hints and then under that one caution, it just lost revs and I had no choice but to pull it in.
NBCSN: Seems like you just can't seem to catch a break, how did you feel about your car up to that point?
Jackson: We were ok in practice but once the race started, the car felt quite good to race. Its a big deal considering how terribly off we were at Homestead and I was actually up there in the top 5 for abit so that's a improvement that actually makes it worth not stomping off to the trailer for once. Hopefully with the newer engines, we have something that's as quick and abi more reliable.
NBCSN: Its off to Mid-Ohio next. Thoughts on that track?
Jackson: As hard as it is to believe, that's the one American Road Course I don't have enough laps around. In terms of feel though, I kinda think of it as a smaller Sonoma since its tight and twisty so I'm thinking I shouldn't be too bad there. I've done the few laps I have in a LMP2 so the feel shouldn't be that far off, just gotta keep that wheelspin in check because that's the kind of place that'll chew your tires up if you don't keep it straight.
 
In a meeting with different team leaders, Polaris Motorsports became the first VRR team to openly share their business portfolio, highlighting their predicted costs and giving everyone on the outside an idea on how much money it takes to run a team.

Expenses:
5 chassis-$350,000 each=$1,750,000
2 aero kits-$100,000 each=$200,000
5 engines-$150,000 each=$750,000
5 transmissions-$50,000 each=$250,000
Tires for 29 events (team combined)=$2,900,000
Fuel for 29 events (team combined)=$435,000
Various taxes and employee payments=$1,950,000
Total expenses: $8,235,000.00

Money coming in:
Various sponsorships=$2,000,000
Earnings (from 7 races)=$2,000,000
Endorsements: $550,000
Projected total earnings (#84)=$7,142,857.14
Projected total earnings (#48)=$950,000.00

Current financial standing=$4,550,000 (-3,685,000)
Projected financial standing for December 31st, 2016=$10,642,857.14 earned (+$2,407,857.14 profit)

While this only includes figures for its IndyCar team, it's a good model to compare to.
 
As bad luck continues to mount and the maiden season for the Norfolk based outfit in Indycar continues its nightmarish run, Perl-Speed GP is now evaluating its future in the sport.

"April's been hell frankly, sponsorship talks have fallen through and we really overlooked our budget." Team manager Walt Stalwert told reporters at Kentucky.

Perl-Speed has had a mixed year, its contracted efforts in F1 going surprisingly well, and its GT3 team doing quite well in Europe. However, the Indycar operation's lackluster efforts have left the team questioning its future already.

"Yeah the season's just began basically and its our first year, but I think we're in over our heads." Stalwert continued, "Ryan (Perlstein) hasn't been happy at all and we're wondering if we have spread ourselves too thin."

Aston Martin is still currently continuing its planned foray into Indycar for 2017 with Perl-Speed as its factory team. With the recent doubts of the team's Indycar program, discussions of the two's planned factory effort are back underway. Some within the team sounded confident of at least a return for 2017, while some were unsure about anything beyond this year. Perlstein was unavailable as he was heading for a test in Scotland for the GT3 team, however he was said to be looking forward to Indianapolis where the team as a whole hopes to turn their luck around.
 
April 25, 2106- Michael Russo reporting from Kentucky with VRR Straight Talk IndyCar pounts leader Jamie Ngaire-Jardine. "So Jamie, Kentucky is in the books. How was the race?
JNJ: Absolutely fantastic. The car was great abd to finish 4th after being last or close to last in practice is awesome. We made some tweaks to the setup and manged to find a good groove.
Russo: You come out of this race leading the championship. How big is that?
JNJ: It's certainly something that I wasn't expecting, that's for sure!
Russo: The big paddock news is the fact that uou are off to Polaris Motorsport next season. Take us through how that happened.
JNJ: It was a lot simpler then people seem to think. We had sponsors through the end if this season and a grid spot for next year. Polaris offered to have us run for them to make sure that we could keep sponsorship and stay on the grid. A happy bonus was the fact that I'll actually be earning a salary from this drive instead of all the money going straight back to the team.
Russo: It's well known that you are the only driver from New Zealand in this series, but the team actually has another base here in the US doesn't it?
JNJ: Yeah, absolutely. We have a based in Central Minnesota , about 15 minutes south if Saint Paul. I had to travel there to visit family and absolutely fell in love with the state.
Russo: Any favorite parts?
JNJ: Winter for sure! The snow is so beautiful. Also, the Wild! I enjoy getting called an underdog and the Wild are the hockey equivalent.
Russo: Final question for you: Polaris just released their budget for this season and they expect to being in and use $12 million dollars to run this season. How much is RTi using?
JNJ: I can't give exact numbers but much, much less is coming in. Something to the tune of a quarter to a half of that is our budget for the entire season. We will be firmly in the red at the end but the sponsors decided to get on board and help make this a reality
 
I do have to say that this race commentary may be the best one yet, and all that the recipe needed was a large amount of salt.

nas, Clayton, there are no good looks paying for that 79 car :lol:. The wrinkles are already here, the gray is on the way.:D
 
Expenses include:
Chassis x17
Aero Kits x5
Engines x20
Transmissions x17
Tires for a combined 104 events
Fuel for a combined 104 events
Other expenses for team maintaining, base salaries
Total expenses=$27,045,000

Investment includes:
Sponsorship=$8,000,000
Projected Earnings=$21,225,000
Endorsements=$2,000,000
Total Money In Flow=$31,225,000

This is a reminder that projected earnings are based on average earnings of the past 7 events multiplied by 3.05. The actual earnings could be as low as $14,500,000 or as high as $50,000,000.
As bad luck continues to mount and the maiden season for the Norfolk based outfit in Indycar continues its nightmarish run, Perl-Speed GP is now evaluating its future in the sport.

"April's been hell frankly, sponsorship talks have fallen through and we really overlooked our budget." Team manager Walt Stalwert told reporters at Kentucky.

Perl-Speed has had a mixed year, its contracted efforts in F1 going surprisingly well, and its GT3 team doing quite well in Europe. However, the Indycar operation's lackluster efforts have left the team questioning its future already.

"Yeah the season's just began basically and its our first year, but I think we're in over our heads." Stalwert continued, "Ryan (Perlstein) hasn't been happy at all and we're wondering if we have spread ourselves too thin."

Aston Martin is still currently continuing its planned foray into Indycar for 2017 with Perl-Speed as its factory team. With the recent doubts of the team's Indycar program, discussions of the two's planned factory effort are back underway. Some within the team sounded confident of at least a return for 2017, while some were unsure about anything beyond this year. Perlstein was unavailable as he was heading for a test in Scotland for the GT3 team, however he was said to be looking forward to Indianapolis where the team as a whole hopes to turn their luck around.
Might want to start looking for better sponsors and pay drivers lol
 
In a meeting with top tiered team principals regarding funding and future series plans to try and avoid cost hikes, Cat Devil Racing, Honda's top team, refused to share its financial measurements for the 2016 racing year, instead allowing Polaris Motorsports to sit in for them. "We see no reason to share our financial information with the series at this time." Team owner Kunimitsu Kino****a informed. "Economically, we are way above minimum requirements and we will offer financial assistance to those that will be remaining as Honda teams in the future. But outside of that, we have absolutely no intent to share or even remotely discuss our financial position with teams outside of the Honda circle."
 
In a meeting with top tiered team principals regarding funding and future series plans to try and avoid cost hikes, Cat Devil Racing, Honda's top team, refused to share its financial measurements for the 2016 racing year, instead allowing Polaris Motorsports to sit in for them. "We see no reason to share our financial information with the series at this time." Team owner Kunimitsu Kino****a informed. "Economically, we are way above minimum requirements and we will offer financial assistance to those that will be remaining as Honda teams in the future. But outside of that, we have absolutely no intent to share or even remotely discuss our financial position with teams outside of the Honda circle."
Fine and dandy. I can just make educated guesses since, you know, I am the one with all the results at the tips of my fingers.
 
"I think that it has been made pretty obvious by this stage of the season that I'm focused first and foremost on winning the championship. Money comes a distant last in things that I'm focused on. While I am blessed to have Virgin as a personal sponsor for the next 2 years, I can assure you that the monetary part was only briefly brought up in contract talks with Polaris Motorsports and only then just in relation to if they would be a team wide deal. There are other drivers that should have scrutiny on them because they clearly have a large sum of money behind them and don't have the ability to handle the pressures of IndyCar
 
This year's VRR GTPlanet Indianapolis 500 will be composed of three practice sessions, 2 days of qualifying, as well as a test event for the VRR Coca-Cola Truck Series on Carb Day before the main event itself on Sunday. But rest assured, 2017 will be stacked. VRR has formally made plans to increase the program for the future runnings of the event, and this is what it will look like.
-10 practice sessions, 5 being 90 minutes, 5 being 60 minutes
-2 days of qualifying, bump qualifying happening before pole qualifying
-Carb Day support races. Freedom 100 with Indy Lights, and a VRR Truck Series race.
-500 Mile race on Sunday.

VRR has not ruled out the possibility of a non-VRR Series also supporting the event the weekend before the event after a qualifying session has been completed.
 
Brandon Hayes: Welcome to the weekly VRR Driver Chat, and the driver of the hour, she drives the #84 Polaris Motorsports Honda, the Brawling Bosnian Stephanie Porter-Kelley. Thanks for joining us!
Stephanie Porter-Kelley: Thanks for having me!
BH: How have you been?
SPK: Busy. Always busy. Either at home or at the office, just always moving. *laughs*
BH: First things first, something that came out of the race at Kentucky was the rumors that your team had resorted to pay drivers. Now, your team's financial statement kind of clarifies that the team is relatively healthy. Can you break that down for us?
SPK: Yeah. Probably the easiest place to start is the financial statement. That financial statement, beginning January 1st next year, will be required by every competing IndyCar team to be submitted. That financial statement is not solid fact. It is an estimation. The numbers there are what we expect to have seen by the team New Year's Eve rolls around. We are no where near that amount in debt, in fact we are currently in the green, which is fantastic for us because we might not even be the eight million in debt that we predicted.
BH: That's certainly good...
SPK: Yeah, and so, we have acquired drivers for next year. Between Jamie, and Jacob, and Diego, those four are officially on the team next year. In fact, Polaris and Bauer NTi have already been assisting each other throughout the season. That squad will just be coming on board, so she won't have to readjust to much. Now, they have contracts, and those have been filled out. But we have not hardly discussed sponsorship deals yet. We know that Jamie and Jacob will be using team sponsors and their own sponsors, but asides from the sponsors that we have this year like Alienware, Dish Network, and such, none of the other sponsors have yet to make any financial commitments. The entire pay driver argument goes out the window right there. Jacob and Jamie are more towing the team lines, and Diego is doing his own thing under our garage roof next year, which is fine. He has his assets lined up, and we're good with that. But to insinuate that we pulled in two of the faster drivers in the field because of sponsorship is asinine. 95% of Jacob's sponsors are Black Rose sponsors, not his, so he has to find his own. But we're in talks with a lot of people to get him secured and possibly make him a future workhorse for the team.
BH: Are you hinting that you aren't going to be driving much longer?
SPK: Kinda. I'm turning 29 this year, which may seem young. But what do I have left to do? I've been a Formula One world champion, I've won at Le Mans, I've won Indianapolis. What else is left that I have any interest in doing? Super GT? I'm not moving to Japan for a year just to say I ran a season of that. Stock cars? I'm in trucks already and I'm doing a single season of GTPlanet Fantasy Series before cleaning my hands of that mess. The only thing I haven't yet done is win an IndyCar series championship. Am I retiring just yet? Not a chance. I have several years left in me and I want to race long enough for my daughters to appreciate what I've done in my life time. But none of that is essential. I have enough money to leave and give my daughters the best future in the world. But I want that final relic to put in my crown.
BH: You brought up family, which is always a big deal. Your little sister Angel has voiced her frustration with Chevrolet repeatedly. That's your future engine manufacturer. How are your feelings over that?
SPK: I think she brought it on herself and her team by making that early announcement that they were ditching Chevy for Ferrari at the end of the season. That was a terrible competitive decision, and you see teams like Team Kate Upton and Scuderia Rabia Furiosa doing better because they are remaining loyal to the bowtie. And I have always been grateful that Honda has remained supportive of us even though we are moving to Chevrolet. Honda knows what the role of a factory team means and that we couldn't pass it up, and they've remained top notch and supportive of every Honda engine user. I have no sympathy for Angel or her team in that regard. I just feel sorry that it's kicking out two potential megastars simply because they voiced their disapproval of their move. I know we picked up Descoteau, but I genuinely hope someone picks up Birmingham because he has a lot of potential.
BH: In your last big interview, you made some controversial remarks regarding several drivers in the series, essentially saying they had no better use than trashing cars. Time has passed, has your stance changed?
SPK: Not really, no. The crashes at Kentucky I think solidified my statement about a few. Ahmed showed a lot of improvement, Glover actually survived the first tenth of the race, which I joked on the radio should be considered a win for that team. But no, my stance is still the same. There's the championship pedigree drivers, the drivers with the potential, and then the backmarkers that need circulated in and out of cars every season to keep fresh faces at the back. Hopefully by Mosport we will have a clear idea of where everyone is at on the totem pole.
 
In the SRF US Headquarters Conference Room
VRR Reporter:
David, Do you feel like your team can use the momentum gained from Kentucky and consistently in the Top 10? David Rossi: We hope so. It's not going to be easy as we need to work on every aspect to get better on a Race Weekend. We have missed the race setup completely many times this season.
VRR Reporter: Are we going to see a 3rd car for next season for the Triple Crown Races? DR Who knows? If the Driver and Sponsor line up then sure. First, We have to have our second driver get ready for the full season. Alright guys, That's it for now.
 
I know what you're thinking. Where's Mid-Ohio? Wasn't that due to come out yesterday? Well, with commentary like Kentucky, it might be best to hold it to cheer everyone up on a Monday.
 

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Well, I am not feeling down in the dumps for the day being Monday, but I appreciate the kindness on your part. 👍

Going 6:30 minutes into the video, the colors seem to glitch somewhat... They have gone back to normal, but that was somewhat strange.

Not as strange as tbw trying to kill a marshal, however. :lol:
 
I also killed a marshal. :lol:

It wouldn't be a real race without a BRRT car retiring, honestly. Just my luck it had to be me this time while I'm 9th in points. Great.

At least my race logo looked good in the video. 👍
 
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Brandon Hayes: Today's race winner Stephanie Porter-Kelley had a dominant time here in Mid-Ohio, leading 82 laps to a routing win from pole position. Steph, how are you feeling?
Stephanie Porter-Kelley: It feels great to finally bring a win home after missing out on Surfer's an Barber, and even Homestead. We've had such a steady program, and I definitely have to thank Alienware, TAG Heuer and Honda for really making this one possible for us.
BH: You converted your third pole position into your first win of the season, running through the field. Was it as easy as it looked?
SPK: I don't want to say easy in the sense that there wasn't competition, but no one wanted to gamble. Everyone I think is more focused on next week and qualifying for Indy, which I think made this one easier for us. No one took a lot of risks or really tried to pass. It's disappointing because the fans didn't get much out of it, but we got a win, which really sets us up well for Indy.
BH: You are now one point behind your future teammate Jamie Ngaire-Jardine . Is there anything you can say about that ongoing championship rivalry?
SPK: Not really. We're both going for the championship. As long as we don't crash each other, I know I'll be going for it every race.
 
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Another result, another retirement. Not really surprised any more.
It sucks because Audi has the least amount of retirements, and your engine stats are the same as the factory team.
 
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