What’s the plan in IndyCar? Does anybody know?

Surely there must be some misunderstanding, and the board of directors charged with overseeing IndyCar really does have a long-term strategy for the series.

The sacking of CEO Randy Bernard has played out like an episode of Keystone Cops, threatening to push IndyCar into a full-blown crisis.

One problem? IndyCar doesn’t seem to think it has a crisis, even though powerful team owner Roger Penske accused the board of directors of showing “poor judgment” following Sunday night’s firing of Bernard.

“There is no future plan,” Penske said. “They need to realize this will hurt teams with major sponsors. We need continuity.”

Instead, the series has a grossly mishandled situation by the Hulman & Co. and IMS boards, which let Bernard twist all season amid rumors team owners wanted him fired. The board did nothing to quiet the talk during a paranoid final month, and it reached absurdity late last week with a report Bernard had indeed been fired.

But it was denied by both Bernard and the speedway on Friday, only for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway board to meet Sunday night and decide in an emergency executive session that Bernard should step down.

Why? No reason has been given.

What did Bernard do wrong? No examples were cited.

What will IndyCar do next? Jeff Belskus, the interim CEO, plans to conduct a search for Bernard’s replacement and said he hasn’t set an established timeline to hire a CEO.

Bernard was no messiah and he was polarizing in the paddock, so it’s not as if he can’t be replaced.

But he was popular with fans and made improvements to the series in his three years on the job. But his departure has been messy and that has created uncertainty for teams searching for sponsors, who must be wondering if the series is a viable investment.

It also has enraged fans who are threatening to turn away for good.

“Done with IndyCar,” said Geoff Gray, who attended the Indianapolis 500 first with his father and grandfather and has had his own tickets for 10 years. But he said “inside politics once again got in the way of the shortsighted board of directors.”

“The sponsors see nervous fans, and there is no longer an apparent path or objective,” said the Florida resident. “The fans have also been nervous because they liked the direction that Randy was taking IndyCar.”

A saddened Christine Cesare Montez of California also reached her breaking point.

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