(image credit: David Yowe)

We’re going into only the third venue of the 25th season of Pirelli World Challenge racing and already it’s been one for the record books. Massive changes have been brought in for 2014 (FIA GT3 cars, a gentleman racer’s GT-A class, for example) and while none of these changes are ground breaking decisions, they have brought unprecedented attention and success for the series. This is not to say the series was unsuccessful in years past – 2013 was a spectacular season with both class championships coming down to the final race of the season. To put it in perspective, 2014 has been so successful already, the series had 3 times more live viewers for the season opening round at St Pete than the year before and massive server upgrades were needed for the next round at Long Beach to handle all the new eyes on the series.

So while none of the changes to PWC have been Earth shattering, what is WC Vision doing to get more cars on the grid, more long term partners signed and most importantly, more eyes on the product? Does Scott Bove have a secret recipe where he throws in two parts Audi, 1 part Cadillac, 3 dashes of Pirelli, a scoop of NBCSports, and Lamborghini to taste into a big cauldron and bring it to a simmer? No, of course not, that is a crazy, but delicious sounding, thought. So what is their secret formula? Well, it all boils down to a four letter acronym: K.I.S.S. – Keep It Simple, Stupid.

While the sportscar racing scene around the world, even more so in North America, is getting more and more complicated by the week, Pirelli World Challenge has taken a step back from the mess and has kept everything relatively simple. They jumped on the already successful FIA GT3 spec bandwagon and by being the first series in North America to allow the full spec has brought in droves of entries, not only from the US, but Europe as well, giving us massive grids in GT and GT-A. This has also led to drivers and teams converting or expanding to PWC from other series in the US. Combined with GTS and 50 cars are becoming the norm. Look even further down to the TC classes and there’s 20+ more entries there.

Next comes the race format. While endurance racing is the preferred format in sportscars, World Challenge again takes a step back and simplifies it even more. 50 minute standing-start sprints with no pit stops + no driver changes + no tire changes = less cost with more on track action. This appeals not only to the teams and drivers who are always pushing, but the casual fan, who in today’s fast paced, “give it to me now” culture, doesn’t have the patience or attention span for a 10, 12 or 24 Hour sportscar ballet. While some have called out World Challenge for not having a marque round on the calendar like Petit Le Mans, 12 Hours of Sebring or Indycar’s Indy 500, I don’t think that is needed…yet. But, this leads into my next point.

So, PWC does not have a “marque” race, yet they do support other series (INDYCAR, TUSC and Nationwide) and while they aren’t supporting them at their marque races (although Long Beach claims to be INDYCAR’s Monaco), they are getting in front of already established fan bases getting more eyes on the product than they would instead of trying to headline an event right now. In the future, a headline event is VERY possible and something I think World Challenge is very open to, but as the series grows and gets their foundation fully solidified, utilizing these others series is essential in their success (and also to the series they support).

On top of that the production quality of the race broadcasts is top notch capped with Jeremy Shaw, Jeff Lepper, Calvin Fish and Greg Creamer all pitching in on the mic. All four parties are experienced, knowledgeable, and bring something special to the event coverage. As proven every weekend, top class announcing teams can really make the difference.

Again, nothing Pirelli World Challenge has done to this point has been ground breaking, but like John Wooden-lead UCLA teams, have gotten back to the basics and stressed the fundamentals. K.I.S.S is not a perfect formula and PWC is not the perfect sportscar series, but taking a conservatively calculated approach is exactly what the sport needs right now.