The Official Blog of the IZOD IndyCar Series

In his 11 months as INDYCAR CEO, Randy Bernard has embraced Indy car racing and learned everything he can about the sport. This weekend, he showed a group of Indianapolis media, including me, what his past life was like by giving us a behind-the-scenes look the Professional Bull Riders Built Ford Tough Series.

INDYCAR CEO Randy Bernard talks with local media at a PBR event

Being “Randy Bernard’s Guest” has its privileges in both places, but that’s not the only thing you get by hanging with him. You quickly find out why he’s been a success everywhere he’s been. Here’s a look at Randy’s two worlds:

PBR: The best bull riders in the world compete at events around the world and risk their lives for cash and prizes.

INDYCAR: Best race drivers in the world compete at events around the world and risk their lives  for cash and prizes.

PBR: Riders come from all over the world, including Australia, Brazil, Canada and the U.S.

INDYCAR: Drivers come from all over the world, including Australia, Brazil, Canada and the U.S.

Conseco FieldHouse in Indianapolis, Indiana prepares for the Professional Bull Riders Event

PBR: Has a Briscoe (Travis)

INDYCAR: Has a Briscoe (Ryan)

PBR: There are two world-class athletes in every eight second ride – the rider and the bull.

INDYCAR: The driver is the only world-class athlete, but races last much longer than eight seconds.

Action shot at the PBR event

PBR: Riders are encouraged to climb fences after their ride for safety. One Brazilian rider was called out for not doing so.

INDYCAR: One Brazilian driver doesn’t need encouragement to climb the fence after the race – as long as he wins.

PBR: Unique aroma in the “paddock” and you have to watch where you step.

INDYCAR: Just a unique aroma in the paddock.

A professional bull rider works to stay on his bull

PBR: Sometimes the bulls get into skirmishs after the event

INDYCAR: Sometimes, A.J. Foyt gets into skirmishes after the event.

PBR: Has a clown who entertains the fans during downtime.

INDYCAR: Ummm, no comment.

Things get rough at the PBR event

PBR: Robson Palermo of Brazil won the Indianapolis event despite a broken ankle. That’s tough.

INDYCAR: Buddy Lazier of Colorado won the Indy 500 a few weeks after breaking his back. That’s tough.

Racing, it seems, isn’t all that different from bull riding.

More action from the Professional Bull Riders event

“Wow!”

Indy Racing League CEO Randy Bernard isn’t usually a man of few words, but that one sufficed after exiting the Indy Racing Experience two-seater at Texas Motor Speedway. Johnny Rutherford was the driver for four laps on the 1.5-mile, high-banked oval a few hours before the Firestone 550K.

Top speed was about 175 mph – about 40 mph slower than Ryan Briscoe’s four-lap pole average – and Bernard felt the G forces that pinned him to the right side of the stretched Dallara.
In 15 years as CEO of the Professional Bull Riders, Bernard hadn’t once boarded a mechanical bull. Three months into the IZOD IndyCar Series gig and he’s taken a wild ride.

“I’ve never had an experience like that in my life,” Bernard says. “I can’t even fathom going faster than we did. I was blown away with how fast we were going, and to know that Johnny can still go that fast was amazing.”

Johnny Rutherford and Randy Bernard

The three-time Indianapolis 500 champion wasn’t about to take the jab without landing a left hook.

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[ADMIN NOTE: A couple of weeks ago, prior to the race in Kansas, we solicited questions from our fans on Facebook for an interview we were preparing with Indy Racing League CEO, Randy Bernard. We received around 100 questions and from those, grabbed a handful. The following video is Randy responding to your questions. Please let us know what you think, because we plan on continuing this video series throughout the season. And, feel free to add your questions as comments in this post. Enjoy.]