Indy 500

[Mark in Oshawa]

Jose, to understand the magic of what was Indy, you have to read the history. Like it was said, it was the only major race around for a lot of years, and for many years, it was the only time the drivers didn't race on dirt or clay.

Not to mention no where on the earth do you find a facility with 400000 seats and see them all full plus the infield full of humanity.

NASCAR by being at Indy has stolen some of the lustre. The Brickyard was sacred turf for only open wheeled race cars. When NASCAR showed up, a different fan was allowed in, and there is nothing wrong with that but the media now treats the Brickyard 400 for NASCAR as an equal for the Indy 500. It isn't in the minds of us open wheeled fans, but it is yet another example of NASCAR moving in and dominating thought and interest in the eyes of the public.

No, letting the barbarians past the gates has diminished the magic of Indy.

The Indianpolis 500 was one of the greatest events in racing, and still is to a point. IT was THE event right up into the 80's....when NASCAR started to really get exposure for the Daytona 500. Now if you look at TV ratings, NASCAR kills the IRL in every race, including the Indy 500. That said, to go to it live I hear is one of the greatest things to see live. The traditition and sight of 33 cars trying to run into corner one on the start is something that has to be seen live. I haven't been, but have relatives who have, and I know from their experience I missed something.....

[ZzZzZz]

ZzZzZz, I agree with you on drivers doing the double, They could also change to Saturday. Originally, of course they ran on Memorial Day, but not on Sunday. When the US moved to the Monday holiday every year, They ran on Saturday for 3 or 4 years. There's nothing in tradition that says they can't do that again. They could have Sunday as a rain day and chances are, they could get drivers to do the double again.

Sounds good to me. Don't think there's any conflicts running Saturday. Hey, wasn't the 600 originally Saturday? I seem to recall the change in the early '90s..?

[indycool]

No, there were a couple of years in the early '70s that Indy ran on Saturday instead of Sunday and Charlotte was on Sunday. I can remember people trying to take in both with overnight flights. Back then, it wasn't easy.

[DocF225]

No, letting the barbarians past the gates has diminished the magic of Indy.

The Indianpolis 500 was one of the greatest events in racing, and still is to a point. IT was THE event right up into the 80's....when NASCAR started to really get exposure for the Daytona 500. Now if you look at TV ratings, NASCAR kills the IRL in every race, including the Indy 500. That said, to go to it live I hear is one of the greatest things to see live. The traditition and sight of 33 cars trying to run into corner one on the start is something that has to be seen live. I haven't been, but have relatives who have, and I know from their experience I missed something.....

Well said. I live 45 minutes from Lime Rock in CT. Every year I get to watch some of the best in amateur and professional sports car racing. LRP also hosts a Busch East (formerly North) event in October. It is a totally different place when the rednecks arrive. They run the Busch cars in the AM and follow up with SCCA and/or other sports car races. After the Busch cars are done the rednecks packup their coolers and can't leave the park fast enough.
Yup NASCAR changes the whole mystique and nuance (I'll wait while the NASCAR fans look those two words up) of the historic tracks. Same thing when the Rednecks decend upon The Glen.

The reality of NASCAR is they have the money. Mr. France turned a redneck amusement into a marketing juggernaut absorbing as many racing dollars as possible. Thet leaves very little left over for the other racing disciplines.

Here in the US, if you say "I'm going to the races", people automatically assume you mean hillbilly redneck round and round. When I politely explain that it's a Sports Car race they get a slack-jawed vacant stare.

[indycool]

Mark, I believe there was something like six or seven NASCAR races that outrated the Indianapolis 500 on TV in '06.

[Mark in Oshawa]

IC, and every NASCAR race on TV including most of the Busch ones out draw all the other IRL and Champ Car events on TV. NASCAR is the 500 lb. gorilla of motorsports in the US of A and to give them the biggest and best stage for racing in North America was in my mind, a mistake. Legitimacy is everything, and until NASCAR showed up at Indy, they always talked about the great race in May.

Doc, be nice to the rednecks at the Glen, I used to go there for the NASCAR event. I like NASCAR truth be told, but only on road courses and short ovals. Stock Cars are a ton of fun, but some of their fans require some getting used to. What I have always resented is how no one thinks of racing anymore except as either f1 or NASCAR. Indy cars/Champ Cars blew their own market in two, and with the confusion to the race fan who really isn't serious, it was just too easy to tune them all out.

The Indianapolis 500 is still a great spectacle, and for one day, it is the racing capital of the world, but the rest of the year, no one cares any more, and that lack of interest is dragging Indy into being just a big race among many others on the calender. I would wager that most people would now rather have Brickyard 400 tickets than Indy 500 tickets in markets other than Indianapolis.

[indycool]

No argument there......

[jarrambide]

Ok Mark, but let me ask you a question that is not east to answer.
You said Indy 500 is still great, for one day it is th ecapital of racing, but that no one cares the rest of the year.
As a fan, would you exchange Indy 500 as the great race for a racing series stronger than NASCAR?, If a genie came to you and said he could do that, would you say yes?

[indycool]

jarrambide, I'll try to answer that. I don't think it's a good question for several reasons. The Daytona 500 was far and away the highlight of the NASCAR season for many years and the series grew up around it with the legend of the Southern 500, new tracks like Pocono, Michigan, Talladega, etc., being built in the late '60s and early '70s.

So, "trading" the "500" for a strong series just isn't the way something like that is going to work. And would that strong series even BE stronger than NASCAR? In what way? NASCAR races 36 weekends a year and you can't run these cars that much, so NASCAR is ALWAYS going to be in the news more often because it's MAKING news more often.

Besides that, there's no "mythical trophy" for either the IRL or CC or anyone else to be "stronger" than NASCAR. It doesn't exist.

[jarrambide]

I´m not saying you could exchange the 500 for a stronger series, that´s why I used the genie example, if an omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient beeing gave you that choice, would you say yes or no?, I´m interested in the answer, not on the possibility of happening IC, this is all just an exercise in what if.
If I knew the way to create a trong series I would not be just a fan would I? Just look at A1GP, all the money in the world, racing around the world, paying for media coverage in a lot of counries and hardly any fans yet.