IndyCar insider drops two-word reaction to a long-awaited acquisition days after inaugural Thermal Club GP

IndyCar news outlet RACER.com recently made a deal with the motorsports television network MAVTV. The outlet recently revealed that MAVTV has been acquired and will be renamed to RACER Network, and this drew a reaction from IndyCar journalist David Land.

RACER.COM was originally founded as a magazine in 1992 and has since evolved into a website. Owned by Racer Media and marketing, the outlet doesn't only cover IndyCar but also various other motorsports like Formula One and NASCAR, among others.

As for MAVTV, it is a television network and media platform that was founded in 2002 and is owned by Lucas Oil. The network solely broadcasts live racing, documentaries, news and analysis.

This partnership has been in the works for over a year now but the acquisition began a little later during the last year. Both the companies have had a partnership for quite sometime now and speaking about the same, RACER chairman Chris Dyson said:

“We have been partners for many years and over time the parties realized this made complete sense. The combination makes RACER the central multi-media motorsports hub for fans and provides brands with the most comprehensive array of marketing solutions to activate their involvement in the sport and its adjacent sectors.”

Due to the partnership, MAVTV will now be renamed as 'RACER Network'. The logo and the rebranding will take place with immediate effect but the other aspects will be rolled out eventually to ensure smooth transition.

Marshall Pruett, RACER.COM reporter and writer via his account on X announced the partnership.

"Truly exciting day that's been in the works for a good while. @RACERmag is now a print, web, and television outlet. Big plans ahead.MAVTV acquired, will be rebranded RACER Network https://racer.com/2025/03/27/mavtv-acquired-to-be-rebranded-racer/ via @racermag" he wrote in the tweet.

The IndyCar insider, David Land replied to this by stating:

"Huge news" Land wrote.

IndyCar loses a chunk of its viewership during the Thermal Club Grand Prix

The season opener at the Firestone Grand Prix of St Petersburg saw a record-setting viewership of 1,47,000. However, this was not the case with Thermal Club Grand Prix as it was revealed that the second race delivered an average of 704,000 viewers.

The viewership during the first IndyCar race for the season was an average of 45% over the 2024;season. During the second race at Thermal the viewership rate plummeted down to 700,000 from 1.4 Million.

Speaking about the same, one of the IndyCar reporters Nathan Brown tweeted how the viewership rate peakee when Alex Palou haunted down Pato O'Ward for the lead.

“NEWS: @FOXSports says it averaged an audience of 704,000 for @IndyCar's race Sunday at @TheThermalClub, down 11% off last year's $1 Million Challenge broadcast on NBC (788,000). Race peaked at 829,000 as Palou hunted Pato for the lead & eventually made the race-winning move,” read Brown's tweet.

The third race of the IndyCar Series will be the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, which will take place on April 13.