In many ways Roger Edmondson is unique when it comes to his tenure as head of the Grand American Road Racing Ass’n and its Rolex Sports Car Series, which kicks off this coming weekend with the Rolex 24 At Daytona.
Unlike others, Edmondson’s background wasn’t rooted in four-wheel competition, but rather the two-wheel universe of road-course racing.
And, it is this fact that may well help him solve the conundrum of the Rolex tour which, despite great competition and more than a few top name drivers and entrants, has been an underachiever in terms of credibility with the traditional sports-car fan base.
In this current world of impressionism where opinions are often based on the easily packaged superficial, the Grand Am’s standing in the road racing community has been hurt by the odd appearance of its Daytona Prototypes, which look dowdy in a universe used to sleekness.
When asked, Edmondson is candid about what the Grand Am has to do to gain the acceptance he, and frankly a number of others think it deserves. “Today,” he says, “the number of sports-car fans is somewhere between 250,000 and 350,000. What we and the American Le Mans Series both need to do is to reach out beyond this base, and while I can’t speak for the ALMS, for us, the answer is fairly obvious. If we can connect with just one half of one percent of the NASCAR audience, which is estimated to be up to 75 million persons, we can double our fan base numbers, something I believe is more than possible to do.”
The path to accomplishing that goal has already been charted: the pairing of Grand Am events with NASCAR races, and the participation by NASCAR teams and drivers in the Rolex series, which in the case of the upcoming Rolex 24 is significant.
As he sees it, the new fans he hopes to attract won’t have the same problem with the look of the Daytona Prototypes as have the traditionalists.
“I don’t come from the sports-car world, so for me I don’t have any preconceived notions about how the cars should look. Personally, I have no problem with the appearance of the Daytona Prototypes, and I don’t think that others like me will have those issues either.”
Either way, he is certain that the look of the Daytona Prototypes above the beltline, the biggest issue in how they look, and therefore their acceptance by the fans, won’t change anytime soon.
“We made them the way they are because we felt having a large cabin area was in the best interests of safety and driver comfort,” Edmondson said. “If there is a crash, our people can get to and work on a driver much easier and better than if the cockpit were smaller, and that is a key point for us.”
Edmondson and the Grand Am are dealing with the unknown. In many ways what they’re trying to accomplish is akin to changing the game of golf to enlarge its television audience. Although the PGA doesn’t generate huge TV numbers, its demographics are extremely attractive since they come from the higher end of the economic spectrum, and folks in that arena are not necessarily prone to change, particularly change which might dilute the “exclusivity” the sport enjoys.
Ultimately, the Grand Am’s future and that of professional sports-car racing in North America, is a game of numbers. Edmondson and the Grand Am are betting that they’ve found the equation that will bring them the figures that will allow them to achieve the success they are seeking. The bet is on the table, and the outcome remains to be seen.