Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Race Day Fan Experience

Race Day Fan Experience

ROLE

Lead Designer

It was mid-February, and the 100th running of the Indy 500 was just a few months away. Indycar had enjoyed a base of die-hard race fans that follow the entire season, but they wanted to do something about a typical dropoff in viewership after the first race. 

To signify a re-commitment to loyal fans, and also attract a younger generation of new fans, they decided to relaunch a brand new version of their long-standing product known as "Race Control". 

I lead the design of the new Race Control, which was the first to use telemetric data from the cars speeding
at 230 mph to tell a story that you couldn't get from the broadcast.  After months of a non-stop sprint to the finish line, the app went live as the green flag waived. That day, 9,267 unique fans from 90 different countries used the new app to enhance their viewing experience, and our work was recognized by Forbes, and Microsoft.

It was mid-February, and the 100th running of the Indy 500 was just a few months away. Indycar had enjoyed a base of die-hard race fans that follow the entire season, but they wanted to do something about a typical dropoff in viewership after the first race. 

To signify a re-commitment to loyal fans, and also attract a younger generation of new fans, they decided to relaunch a brand new version of their long-standing product known as "Race Control". 

I lead the design of the new Race Control, which was the first to use telemetric data from the cars speeding at 230 mph to tell a story that you couldn't get from the broadcast.  After months of a non-stop sprint to the finish line, the app went live as the green flag waived. That day, 9,267 unique fans from 90 different countries used the new app to enhance their viewing experience, and our work was recognized by Forbes, and Microsoft.

It was mid-February, and the 100th running of the Indy 500 was just a few months away. Indycar had enjoyed a base of die-hard race fans that follow the entire season, but they wanted to do something about a typical dropoff in viewership after the first race. 

To signify a re-commitment to loyal fans, and also attract a younger generation of new fans, they decided to relaunch a brand new version of their long-standing product known as "Race Control". 

I lead the design of the new Race Control, which was the first to use telemetric data from the cars speeding at 230 mph to tell a story that you couldn't get from the broadcast.  After months of a non-stop sprint to the finish line, the app went live as the green flag waived. That day, 9,267 unique fans from 90 different countries used the new app to enhance their viewing experience, and our work was recognized by Forbes, and Microsoft.

It was mid-February, and the 100th running of the Indy 500 was just a few months away.  Indycar had enjoyed a base of die-hard race fans that follow the entire season, but they wanted to do something about a typical dropoff in viewership after the first race. 

To signify a re-commitment to loyal fans, and also attract a younger generation of new fans, they decided to relaunch a brand new version of their long-standing product known as "Race Control". 

I lead the design of the new Race Control, which was the first to use telemetric data from the cars speeding at 230 mph to tell a story that you couldn't get from the broadcast.  After months of a non-stop sprint to the finish line, the app went live as the green flag waived. That day, 9,267 unique fans from 90 different countries used the new app to enhance their viewing experience, and our work was recognized by Forbes, and Microsoft.

Challenges

Die-hard fans would be very sensitive to any changeand Indycar made it clear that a poor experience on their biggest day would not be forgotten. 

The new app needed to be clearly superior yet still provide all the info they were used to. 

How could we enable fans to follow the race in a way they had never been able to before?

What if, you could predict who would win the race? 

Car Track

Each car has a transponder that communicates with sensors located at the beginning and end of each track section. Time is recorded along with other stats like speed, gear, and overtake (boost) info. 

3GB of telemetric data was sent per car, per lap, amounting to 150 data points. The data was consumed in real-time at nine different "sections" across the track.

Track Sections

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is broken into 8 primary sections (blue).  The sum of section times across one lap naturally make up the 'lap time'. 

Finding Our Focus

Out of all the data at our disposal, we eventually focused in on several concepts we suspected would be meaningful, fresh, and exciting for all fans.

  • "On the Move / Hot Driver" - Whose performance is trending upward and are likely to move up in position? 

  • "Battles" - The broadcast typically follows the leaders, yet there is a never ending flow of action everywhere on the track. 

  • "Dream / Optimal Lap" - If you could cherry pick your best section times across any lap of the race, what would that lap time be? This might be indicitive of your hypothetical potential.  

  • Best Section Times - What were the track conditions when the best times for any section were posted? This could help you understand if the race was getting faster, or slowing down.  

 

Detailed Design

I started sketching how we might visually communicate these new concepts, while balancing them with the essentials the fans were used to. It had to be easy to understand the basics, but also discover and immerse in the new features.

Pencil1
Pencil2
Pencil3

We wrestled with how to merge the new data concepts with more standard features. We pushed for a flow that would would not overwhelm at first sight and elegantly expose greater detail and insight as the user went deeper.  

This proved challenging, and through many rapid iterations I drove from complexity to simplicity.

 

Default View2

Home - Default View. We started to achieve a better balance between presenting expected information, and the introduction of new concepts. 

Leaderboard Tile Open2

Home - Expanded Leaderboard. We continue to explore the types of information we should present in the leaderboard. Here, if the pit-stop status is introduced for the first time.

Leaderboard List2

Home - Leaderboard List view.  The comparison of actual vs hypothetical performance is now wrapped into a single area with the tile view seen above, making for easier discovery and visual simplicity. The data concept of a "dream lap" listing was tossed in favor of focusing in on the "hot" ranking - which had greater relevance and urgency. 

Landing – Sections2

Home - The Best Section times presentation remained fairly consistent throughout the wireframe iterations.  We felt we were on the right track with UI design on how to progressively expose the historical section time details, but It was still perhaps a bit of data overload for casual fans. We would continue to try different approaches into the visual design work.

Driver Details2

The Driver Detail view evolved considerably over time from documenting their performance over the course of just one race, to an entire season. This helped tie in a longer-term narrative around a particular driver. Yet, we still didn't feel as though it created enough of a persona for the drivers in order to help fans begin to identify better with a "favorite driver".  We would continue to work on this opportunity during visual design. 

Predictive Algorithm

Predictive Algorithm

Predictive Algorithm

Predictive Algorithm

Point Threshhold - A driver witha sum value of greater than five points will be marked as hot
Driver RAnk - A pass counts for 1 points. losing a position resets points to zero.
Lap Time - If a driver sets a new best lap time, 2 points are given
Section Time - driver earns .5 points for each new personal best section time
Time Dimension

"What if we could predict who would win the race?"

"What if we could predict who would win the race?"

We set out to elevate the analytic experience from descriptive to predictive.  Nothing like this had been attempted in Indycar, and eventually we all agreed that we needed to first try to answer a slightly more modest question: What driver performances are trending upward at any given moment during the race, and how might that predict their short-term performance?  This would be a more intriguing question to answer over the course of a 2 hour race, and it would take on heightened importance in the final laps.

Leading with that question, we set out to elevate the analytic experience from descriptive to predictive.  We developed an initial algorithm using the new data that could point to who might win the race.

Nothing like this had been attempted in Indycar, and eventually we all agreed that we needed to first try to answer a slightly more modest question: What driver performances are trending upward at any given moment during the race, and how might that predict their short-term performance?  This would be a more intriguing question to answer over the course of a 2 hour race, and it would take on heightened importance in the final laps.

We designed a point-based algorithm that would highlight performances that were trending upwards. The system was comprised of the five variables shown above. Drivers that had a sum of greater than 5 points would be highlighted as a "hot" driver.  We planned to review the results of the algorithm after the first race and improve upon it. 

Visual Design

The visual designer then set out to create a polished identity to the app that established a feeling of action, and brought driver personalities to the forefront. 

We had to hastily move our work into visual design. Through the detailed wireframing work we had made a lot of progress on what we suspected would be the right balance between new features and expected info that would excite both groups of fans.

The visual designer set out to create a polished identity to the app that established a feeling of action, brought driver personalities to the forefront.  After multiple iterations, we finally had arrived at something we were all excited about.

Landing Page Default View
Driver Profile View copy
Race Leader Section Times
Race Leader Section Times Details

The visual design phase arrived at a simpler presentation of all of the individual track section best times. 

Extra attention was paid to making sure the interaction signifiers were as clear as they could possibly be.  The interface needed to elegantly disclose more information the deeper the fan wanted to dive, but first make sure they knew they could do so in the first place.

Race Day Launch


While we had run simulation races with the previous year's data, the only way to know if it would all actually work was to flip the go-live switch as the green flag was waved on racing's biggest day. 

The race is always on the Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend and therefore our whole team was logged on and communicating remotely. I brought my laptop along to my friends' annual viewing party, and nervously awaited the sound of engines.

Finally,  we were off to the races! I looked down at the app, and the first lap went by without anything happening. My heart sunk. On the second lap, the data started populating and we all let out a big sigh of relief and watched with smiles as the app worked flawlessly for the rest of the race.

Race Day Launch


While we had run simulation races with the previous year's data, the only way to know if it would all actually work was to flip the go-live switch as the green flag was waved on racing's biggest day. 

The race is always on the Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend and therefore our whole team was logged on and communicating remotely I brought my laptop along to my friends' annual viewing party, and nervously awaited the sound of roaring engines. 

Finally,  we were off to the races! I looked down at the app, and the first lap went by without anything happening. My heart sunk. On the second lap, the data started populating and we all let out a big sigh of relief and watched with smiles as the app worked flawlessly for the rest of the race.

Race Day Launch


While we had run simulation races with the previous year's data, the only way to know if it would all actually work was to flip the go-live switch as the green flag was waved on racing's biggest day. 

The race is always on the Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend and therefore our whole team was logged on and communicating remotely I brought my laptop along to my friends' annual viewing party, and nervously awaited the sound of roaring engines. 

Finally,  we were off to the races! I looked down at the app, and the first lap went by without anything happening. My heart sunk. On the second lap, the data started populating and we all let out a big sigh of relief and watched with smiles as the app worked flawlessly for the rest of the race.

Race Day Launch

While we had run simulation races with the previous year's data, the only way to know if it would all actually work was to flip the go-live switch as the green flag was waved on racing's biggest day. 

The race is always on the Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend and therefore our whole team was logged on and communicating remotely I brought my laptop along to my friends' annual viewing party, and nervously awaited the sound of roaring engines. 

Finally,  we were off to the races! I looked down at the app, and the first lap went by without anything happening. My heart sunk. On the second lap, the data started populating and we all let out a big sigh of relief and watched with smiles as the app worked flawlessly for the rest of the race.

GoLive

Impact

9,267 Unique Fans

experienced the new Race Control Beta app during the 100th Running of the Indy 500.

Visited from 90 different countries

including Brazil, Japan, New Zealand, Spain, Italy, France, Australia, and Chile. 

Recognized by Forbes & Microsoft

Recognized by Forbes & Microsoft

Reflection

The time from introduction to launch was an all-consuming journey resulting in a product that consumed real-time data from vehicles going 230 MPH to tell a story that could be understood by someone sitting on their couch on a Sunday.  Certainly, this was a one of a kind project and I felt incredibly lucky to be a contributor to something that had never been done in Indycar's history.  The metrics above were promising, as there was a good click-through rate from the previous app to the new one, bounce rates were low, and the average session duration was several minutes long. 

Looking back, I would have liked to place a greater context around what constitutes an upward trend to begin with.  I suspect doing so would have been more engaging. I would have also liked to talk with more fans and arrive at better insight into what they might find interesting.  If the performance trends resonated with them, I would work to further hone our predictive algorithm.


standing on the famous bricks at indy motor speedway

Me with some other members of the team hanging out at the world famous Yard of Bricks. 

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