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Former Head of Professional Bull Riders Named CEO of IRL


Former Head of Professional Bull Riders Named CEO of IRL

Randy Bernard, the former head of the Professional Bull Riders Inc., has been named the new CEO of the Indy Racing League in a move that will either be heralded as a great moment of the series or derided as a huge mistake. Bernard’s work during his 15-year stint at the helm of the PBR was impressive, taking the sport to large growth in event attendance and television coverage. In short, he made the PBR relevant, something that the IRL desperately needs to be, and quick.

Citing recent data from the PBR series, the IRL touted the fact that PBR event attendance jumped 12 percent last year and the television ratings increased a whopping 30 percent. Without having baseline numbers to base those increases on, we cannot truly judge their impact, but at least the needle was moving in the right direction.

The IRL, at the leadership level, has been a mess for the last few months. Tony George got the boot as CEO last summer and then just weeks ago he quit the board of directors and resigned from the company and then shut down his race team. The introduction of Bernard is the first positive news to break for the series in some time.

We think that open wheel racing on ovals is even more painful to watch than the modern iteration of NASCAR. At least stuff with fenders on it can bump and grind a little. Putting two Indy cars close together like that results in instant carnage. When wheels touch at speed someone always loses big.

It is always interesting to see what someone coming from outside the realm of racing does when put in a position of power in an organization. Bernard, with his experience of growing the PBR may be the right guy for the job, or he could be the latest and possibly last guy to try and save an open wheel racing series in the USA.

Source — The Canadian Press via Google — Bull Riding Exec Randy Bernard New IRL CEO


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