Milwaukee 225

[SarahFan]

Correct! I still am a AOW fan but I will NOT attend a irl race. EVER
.

Well then you are in luck as it's no longer the irl and TG isn't in charge .... Ill see at Vegas and maybe new hamshire

[Hoop-98]

Well then you are in luck as it's no longer the irl and TG isn't in charge .... Ill see at Vegas and maybe new hamshire

I think I will make Vegas, here is my guess for pole speed (drag limited)


Race Time Distance Speed
2004 CC 26.19 1.5 206.19
2000 IRL 25.89 1.5 208.57
1996 IRL 23.82 1.5 226.70
2011 NC 28.59 1.5 188.88
2011 ICS? 24.95 1.5 216.43

[mileman]

I think that Hoop's "unscientific" note about the 2006 Champcar race may be part but not all of the story. What makes it look even worse though is that somebody thought they could make a buck off of a Champcar race, a NASCAR weekend with trucks and Busch cars, and an IRL race. (Not sure if they made anything - but there it is.) Back in the day - the Indy cars used to draw between 35,000 and 40,000. My first race was 1961 - and the excitement was that the same drivers from the 500 were coming to town. My most memorable race was Jim Clark winning with ease in 1963.

Although I attended many races at other tracks, the Mile was always a comfortable, fun place. Even in the old USAC days, the idea of well known Indy car drivers doubling up in stocks during the fair week was great stuff. (Roger Ward, Parnelli Jones, AJ Foyt, Johnny Rutherford, Lloyd Ruby, etc.)

As for this past weekend, there were so many things that affected the showing - and, who knows, some of it may be a waning interest in OW. I spent the whole weekend at the track and was pleased that I did. But I drove there Sunday morning in a "monsoon." I'm sure that many borderline fans thought the race would look better on ABC on their widescreen HDTVs. They at least could be certain that they wouldn't blow a few hundred bucks - and just get drenched.

But local broadcasting and weather were probably only a small part of the problem. Without repeating all the complaints listed by others, I'll just say that from my perspective, it was bungled by the promoters. I think that AB (which is two separate Indy companies pulled together to put this race on) was just in over it's head. Maybe Barnard just couldn't get anyone to take on the task. (?) They may have been at a disadvantage in not having old mailing lists from 2009, but they just missed the mark both in the marketing and in the site logistics. I'm sure that they were shorthanded and did whatever "good idea" came to mind. But doing things like bringing Simona in for a local media day was not going to hit one out of the park. I'm sure that most viewers wondered who this person was - and why they should care. Were they supposed to be interested because she was a woman who drove at Indy? That was old news. I'll leave it at that. It was a sad showing for the local fans - and a sad showing by AB and Barnard.

I'm sure that OW can soldier on without the Mile - and I'll continue to follow it's twists and turns. I'm just glad that I was there for what looks like the last race.

[mileman]

Anyone here from Chicago? With Chicagoland off the schedule, I'm wondering what marketing exposure there was down there.

[beachbum]

After almost every Indy Car (and even NASCAR) race these days, there is this big discussion on various forums about attendance and the proliferation of aluminum hats. Some tracks have taken to painting the seats contrasting colors so it isn't so obvious. But consider this. How do we know there weren't many people there? We saw the aluminum hats while watching at home on the big screen! I am old enough to remember when the only way to see any sporting event was to go to the event. If there was TV, it was so poor that you didn't see much. That has changed.

Over the years, I have been a quite a few races in various capacities, but now I watch almost exclusively on TV. It isn't the same as the experience at the track, but it is much cheaper and easier. The same effect has hit other sports like baseball. Been to a typical major league game lately or watched on TV? The stands are mostly empty. The last time I went to a baseball game, I missed some of the game because it was almost a social event as many fans were talking about the game and other things. If I really wanted to see the game, with today's technology I see more at home in the living room.

If you only go to race to watch the on track action, you can see much it on TV, often better than at the track. True, some networks like ESPN cover only some of the action, but even at a track no one can watch everything at once. Is it any wonder tracks like Charlotte have big screens with the TV feed running?

The only events that still bring in the live fan are "events". Some race weekends have a lot more going on than can be shown on the limited TV coverage. Indy, Sebring, Talledega, many street circuits, and others have much more going on at the track than just the race. If there are fun things to do that beyond the on track action, then there is more value to go to the track than sit at home. Sports promoters all know that, and the good ones work very hard to improve the event "experience" to try to maintain attendance and draw in fans.

That doesn't explain the crappy TV ratings, but that is another story

[nigelred5]

Isn't that like saying, and nigelred5 will understand this, you will never attend a Baltimore Ravens game because you hate what Bob Irsay did? CART isn't coming back any more than the Colts are. Times change and it's a different era. I was born in the south but I don't have a Confederate flag tatooed on my arm either.

You got that right! The first season after the selloutmergification, but I've moved on, and Indycar is at least more palatable with TG out of the picture, but come on with the new cars already.!!! put that last reminder of the IRL to bed. Unfortunately, it appears Indycar is starting to face the same problem CART/Champcar did with ISC. Before it was to gain dominance. Now, with attendance steadily falling at NASCAR tracks, it appears they are being very protective of their markets. That I don't want to see them dropping even more ovals. I love road courses, but I also love watching the short ovals like Milwaukee, Phoenix and my dearly departed Nazareth . Too bad Gateway isn't open, I really liked the egg. They can't lose most of the 1.5 milers fast enough for me though. Texas and Vegas would be enough. Kansas, Chicagoland and Kentucky just suck to watch any races from, I don't care who is racing on them.

I love the Ravens. My wife bought tickets to the Ravens Colts game in Baltimore. I told her to take a friend. I never missed an opportuninty to spit on the Hoosirer Dome every time I went to Indy. Jimmy Irsay may be an Ok guy from what I hear, but his father, well, too bad he didnt' have the stroke 25 years earlier. We raised more than one glass the day he cashed it in. At least Art Modell gave Cleveland ample time to come up with a deal to keep the Browns and he left the name behind and worked to get cleveland a new team. How's Randy Lerner working out there in Cleveland. I'm sure his Dad is still rolling in his grave over what Randy did to MBNA. Irsay never wanted to be in Baltimore. He wanted to move the team Closer to chicago the day after he swapped the Rams for the Colts with Carroll Rosenbloom. He would have moved them to Gary IN if they had offered him a nickle and a parking lot to play on.

[chuck34]

Animal Farm version of racing.

That may be the funniest thing I've seen in a while. I love it. I'll probably steal that from you.

[Pat Wiatrowski]

Isn't that like saying, and nigelred5 will understand this, you will never attend a Baltimore Ravens game because you hate what Bob Irsay did? CART isn't coming back any more than the Colts are. Times change and it's a different era. I was born in the south but I don't have a Confederate flag tatooed on my arm either.

Yes it is!

[garyshell]

They can't lose most of the 1.5 milers fast enough for me though. Texas and Vegas would be enough. Kansas, Chicagoland and Kentucky just suck to watch any races from, I don't care who is racing on them.

What is wrong with Kentucky Speedway? It has had some pretty exciting races the past couple of years. Are we talking TV or in person viewing? I've done both for the last two Kentucky races, and enjoyed them.

Gary

[booger]

The Mile started going downhill when Haas and his gang demanded that the track be repaved and all the main straight grandstands be bulldozed for new, modern stands and hospitality "sweets" (if you can call them that) built over the top. The state paid, and continues to pay for this fiasco and has left the State Fair b.o.d. with a really bad view of every type of auto racing. Soon after the new construction was completed, Haas and company walked away leaving the keys to the State Fair Park management. Then the real fun started. First the b.o.d. turned over race promotion to a bunch of greedy real estate developers, aka "carpetbaggers" who had no experience or interest in running racing events. Their primary interest was getting their hands on the real estate adjacent to the track for a new hotel, shopping mall and office space. When the real estate market fell apart, this bunch ran like a bunch of scalded dogs, leaving the place drowning in red ink and unpaid sanctioning fees and bills. The board then interviewed a whole bunch of nobodys, along with one proven promoter (Giufree Bros. who got screwed by the board, who changed the contract at the last minute). So with everybody screwing everybody, why is it a surprise that this wonderful track is in such a state of disarray? With all the bad ink that's been generated over the years, I'm surprised anybody showed up last weekend. Now you have what Paul Harvey used to call "the rest of the stroy".