NSSN’s Interview With Randy Bernard (Part One)

May 26th, 2010

As he heads into his first Indianapolis 500 as the IndyCar CEO, Randy Bernard recently sat down with NSSN to answer a variety of questions. While excerpts from the interview ran in the pages of National Speed Sport News, the full interview will appear in segments on www.nationalspeedsportnews.com during the remainder of this week leading into the Indianapolis 500 May 30. This is the first of five segments.

NSSN: What is the biggest thing that has struck you about the IZOD IndyCar Series?

BERNARD: “The thing I like the most about the series already is the passionate level of interest from the team owners, sponsors and fan base,” Bernard said. “That is the most important thing so far. I love the momentum we have from our season-opener in Brazil and we have a new title sponsor in IZOD. There is a lot of momentum right now. My first and foremost job is to continue to build on this momentum.

“Open wheel racing has seen some pretty hard times but I’m a firm believer there is a rainbow at the end of the rain storm.”

NSSN: What is at the top of your agenda?

BERNARD: “We have to create bigger stars out of these drivers. I think some of the things I want to do is with the prize money. I think Americans are really goal oriented. I think without saying too much on what those ideas are we have to make sure there is significant prize money. We have to make sure everyone understands that whether it is a big sum or money at the end or a famous trophy that we are building winners every week.

“We have the Indianapolis 500 way up here and a bunch of vanilla events down here. We need to have national events – two or three majors that stand apart and make big, big events. Long Beach is a huge event for the community but if you went to The Masters – that is a huge event. The PGA has three or four major events that set themselves apart. I want events that take your ratings to a new level.”

NSSN: How important is it to you to add more Americans to the IndyCar lineup?

BERNARD: “People want to see the very best drivers in the world. A lot of people have come up to me and said they want to see more Americans on our tour. From the League standpoint it’s more important from my opinion that we have the very best drivers in the world on our tour.

“Having said that we have to create a grass-roots program where the best karters and the best midget racers are coming up and wanting to come back into open-wheel racing in IndyCar. That is how we are going to make sure we get more Americans in here.

“It’s very simple — we’re not dealing with rocket science here. They want to see the very best in the world. People won’t be afraid to buy a ticket as long as they know they are seeing the very best in the world. We have to make sure the very best drivers in the world are competing here and that takes money.

“I think that is where the money was but Danica Patrick loves open-wheel racing and she loves IndyCar. I’ve talked to a lot of people whose passion is with IndyCar. What we need to do is to keep her motivated and love IndyCar. We have to make sure we are bringing more sponsorship revenue to these events so that we can make sure the very best drivers in the world are competing here. She is one of the best drivers in our series and that is why NASCAR wants here. She has a phenomenal personality and people love her. Our job is to keep to continue to build our television audience, build our fan base and build sponsorship in that order we can keep these great drivers right here.”

NSSN: How did your time at the helm of PBR help prepare you for the IndyCar Series?

BERNARD: “There were three or four organizations out there that were trying to compete with us at the time but we had the very best bull riders in the world,” Bernard said. “Our No. 1 objective was to have the very best bull riders in the world. That is what we have to do here — have the very best drivers in the world and to make sure we are promoting them. Secondly, the biggest step was getting network television and when we did that is when the sport took off.

“We have to reignite Americans into open-wheel racing.”

NSSN: What are your plans for the future regarding existing television contracts?

BERNARD: “We have signed contracts and we will have to navigate through that,” Bernard said. “Remember that Comcast owns Versus and Comcast is the largest cable provider in the United States with great cash flow. We knew they were going to acquire a network and they have acquired 51 percent of NBC. I think that is a huge step.

“We can’t do it by ourselves. It takes our television partners to be engaged in it and it takes our sponsors to be engaged in it. If we can really focus on what we are trying to do, I think in two years this sport will have a different face to it.”

NSSN: When you started your current job, you told the IndyCar Series staff that one word you don’t believe in is “can’t.” Can you elaborate on that?

BERNARD: “I don’t like the word ‘can’t.’ I don’t want to hear that this is the way it’s always been done. I challenge everybody. I ask 1,000 questions. I try to push people to their limits and try to come up with better ideas. The one thing I want to do is make people think outside the box. When you do it for so long the same way people often don’t look outside of the box.

“When I came into rodeo people were doing it the same way for 70 years. I came in and was looked at as a crazy kid making stupid moves. Now, people can’t see it any other way. We put rock and roll music behind it and took the brass band out of it. We put the bullfighters in a uniform opposed to baggies and clown makeup. They have a serious job.

“I looked at it from an outsider. I never tried to be an expert on bull riding and I will never try to be an expert on racing. That’s not my job. My job is to see how many more people I can get to come to that event and now many people can watch that event on TV. I have to be a devil’s advocate to figure out what is in the best interest of the fans.”

NSSN: What were your first few weeks like on the job?

BERNARD: “The first three weeks have been trying for some folks because when there is change there is cautiousness. Some folks wondered why they brought somebody in that didn’t know the sport and others are welcoming the fact someone doesn’t know the sport and there is no politics.

“What I’m trying to do right now is let everyone know their input is important and needed and even though I might ask 1,000 questions, I’m definitely going to change things. But I work as a team with who is on our team. I don’t like to credit myself; I give the credit to who is on the team working on it. We’re in this together but the bottom line is the buck stops here. If there is a problem it’s going to come back to me and I will take the blame for whatever problem there is.”