1: The Firing Of Randy Bernard

What a genuinely lame way to end an amazing year of IndyCar racing.

Looking back on 2012, it feels like the long series of events that led to Bernard’s firing was inspired by a mash-up of the movies “The Hangover” and “Reservoir Dogs” with another dash of “Anchorman” thrown in for good measure.

Take The Hangover’s plot twists that were elevated to crazier and more surreal levels with every scene, and then add in the paranoia, power struggles, backstabbing and bloodshed from Reservoir Dogs and you pretty much have the script that was used to send Bernard packing.

And let’s not forget the way his dismissal was served up, or, more accurately, the grossly inept manner the entire affair was orchestrated. I’m fairly well convinced the consulting group of Burgundy, Fantana, Kind and Tamland were hired to craft Bernard’s exit strategy.

Who else could come up with that plan than the geniuses responsible for “60 percent of the time, it works every time.”



Hasty. Confusing. Ill-timed--I’d wager the handling of Bernard’s firing did more damage to the series than the firing itself.

Sure, Bernard was seen by many fans as the series’ beacon of hope—the embodiment of forward progress--and replacing him (or shifting him aside to handle marketing and promotions) would not have been an easy sell.

But the suddenness of the decision, followed by having no one ready to succeed him…or a credible explanation for his termination ended up shaking its diehard followers to the core. Those fans, who saw Bernard as a change from the bad old days, were blindsided when he was thrown out like an evil dictator. Almost two months later, IndyCar is still trying to repair the damage done by the Hulman & Company board of directors.

It’s an unpopular opinion, but my outlook on what happened to Bernard hasn’t changed: at some point, (but probably not on a Sunday in October during an emergency board meeting), he needed to be removed from his role as CEO.

Like a head coach who loses the trust and confidence of the players in his locker room, Bernard lost that same trust and confidence with far too many team owners and drivers. Whether he did anything to deserve such an outcome is completely immaterial. Once the majority of his constituents tuned him out, a change was necessary.

The way the change was carried out, however, made this the clear No. 1 story of the year. It trumped everything that came before it and it will likely take the start of a new season for any sense of normalcy to sweep over the IndyCar nation.

Life has gone on as usual since Bernard was fired. Teams never stopped preparing for 2013. Drivers have been signed, and so have sponsors. Most of the grid has been filled at an incredibly early point in the off-season activities. Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.

And regardless of the boneheaded comments that continue to be made, the series isn’t going away and will survive without Bernard. But much of the series' new-found shine, at least from a public perception, has been dulled.

Provided the series’ owners recognize that its fan base is much smaller than it once was, and its place on the national sporting scene is greatly diminished, they might come to accept that their actions—once tiny ripples in a big lake—have become tidal waves in a shrinking pond.

And until the new management team can add a bit of depth and breadth back to that body of water, it would be wise for them to keep things still and calm.

MILLER: A Few Rotten Apples

INDYCAR: CEO Randy Bernard Fired During Emergency Board Meeting

MILLER: No Cure For IndyCar’s Stupidity

PRUETT: The Firing Of IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard, Part 1

PRUETT: The Firing Of IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard, Part 2




Honorable Mentions

As I started to formulate this piece, I expected to have a handful of leftover stories and themes to throw into the Honorable Mentions category. Man, did I ever misjudge that one.

The list grew so big, I had to just walk away from it and settle on what I dug up during my first pass through the 696 IndyCar-related stories posted on SPEED.com this year.

Here, in no particular order, and knowing I surely missed a few, are the other items that seemed worthy of inclusion:

• Simon Pagenaud, Schmidt Hamilton Motorsports Lose Their Effing Minds, Win RoY and Take Fifth In Points As A One-Car Team.

• Power Copes With Title Disappointment.

• Aero Kits Are Coming. OK, Wait, Hold That Thought. So, Um, Actually, We Still Don’t Want To Buy Them.

• Rahal Letterman Lanigan Principal Scott Roembke Passes Away.