1) there was no mention of Detroit, or the rest of the schedule, at the indy 500. Plenty of yellow time and a 4 hour rain delay to advertise, but there was nothing. 2. 6 month off period, one race, then another month off. 3. If they don’t have Peacock they can’t even access the entire season. 4. Where are the Ovals bring back Pocono and Michigan. Triple crown.

@happygster922

Ай бұрын

I’m perfectly content to never see Pocono return again.

@MrBestshot33

Ай бұрын

Agree but Pocono is a death trap. There's others that would be great!

@ansond88

Ай бұрын

Personally the absolutely intense amount of ad breaks ruins the entire rest of the season for me, I cancelled peacock last month because it was infuriating to try and watch a race. I can watch 24 F1 races with zero commercials this year for $10/mo 🤷🏻‍♂️ I would love to give that to indycar as well

@anthonywetzel4544

Ай бұрын

I would rather Kentucky over Pocono. I would also be curious if they ran at Daytona.

@Ninjagoda15

Ай бұрын

@@MrBestshot33indycar has greatly improved over the years, so another race at pocono wouldn’t be as bad as the other years at the track

Sting Ray Robb can only lead so many races David.... this is the boost we needed

@ryanfraley7113

Ай бұрын

Sting Ray has improved a lot lately

@LessGo7921

Ай бұрын

@@ryanfraley7113if “lately” meant last race only, yea. He’s literally dead last in points among full timers still and just crashed into the wall two races ago at Barber. He had a good run at Indy but he’ll have to do it more to undo his bad rep 😂

@ryanfraley7113

Ай бұрын

@@LessGo7921 Stop interrupting my Sting Ray fanboyism

@LessGo7921

Ай бұрын

@@ryanfraley7113 nah I’m good 😂

@MightyMack03

Ай бұрын

I had a dad and his young daughter sitting behind me at the race and that girl was screaming for sting ray the whole race because of the puppy paw prints on the car. String Ray has a growing fan base, and it is weird to see, lol.

This sport needs to advertise themselves as a racing series instead of just the “Indy 500” event and we need better scheduling to engage the fans and make sure they tune in for more! This sport has NO IDENTITY outside of the 500! (Also the Detroit GP sucks, we have Michigan)

@user-jf4nj3ez2k

Ай бұрын

Agree. Bring back the Michigan 500. I know that that was a CART race and the IRL what is now Indy Car has only run a couple of 400 mile races there.

@IanTheMotorsportsMan_YT

Ай бұрын

@@user-jf4nj3ez2k and the 500-mile Triple Crown

@Gwackomoli

Ай бұрын

Indycar needs grow existing events like Long Beach, Road America maybe, and the finale. It needs traditions and spectacles that make people watch more than once a year. My brother is always excited for indy each year and then doesn't watch for another twelve months. He is a big (road) car guy as well, he watches f1 and some gt racing.

@IanTheMotorsportsMan_YT

Ай бұрын

@@Gwackomoli those circuit tracks are classics whole the rest of the circuits are just randomly existing on the schedule. Clearly your brother likes road course racing, which is great! But I hate the fact that we have to do IndyCar’s work. Have you ever showed your brother IndyCar racing outside the 500? (Also he should give IMSA, WEC, and Trans-Am a try!)

@Gwackomoli

Ай бұрын

​@@IanTheMotorsportsMan_YTHe has seen me watch other Indy races. But he doesn't watch for long.

I have always been frustrated with the lack of promotion of the other races. The Indy 500 is THE racing event in the US. Most of the other races are treated like a third tier monster truck event showing up at the county fairgrounds.

@davidgray1515

Ай бұрын

because thats what they are

@codymoe4986

Ай бұрын

@davidgrey1515...Found the casual fan.

@eannamcnamara9338

Ай бұрын

Exactly. I'm a casual-ish fan, F1 and WEC are my true loves, but indycar is awsome and I watch every race I know is on. And I saw absolutely zero promotion for alabama or indy road course online, and I managed to miss both of them!

@bartsullivan4866

Ай бұрын

Your totally right! Some of the other tracks are awesome events as well. I had a blast at Laguna a few years ago still have the hangover. Went to Iowa last year love those farm girls had fun watching both races and the concerts, I am hoping someday they put Phoenix back on the map or head down to Long Beach since I live on the west coast. Going to Milwaukee this year for the double.

@user-jf4nj3ez2k

Ай бұрын

They had one of those at the fairgrounds in the county next to us last Saturday.. They were promoting it on local TV and radio. Probably was being promoted better than an IndyCar Series race race.

They need more high speed speedway races. If they still ran Pocono, Michigan, Texas, etc. I feel like that would generate more interest.

@alainaverio9245

Ай бұрын

This

@michaelgawel5823

Ай бұрын

Phoenix was nice!

@NeonGhostin

Ай бұрын

All of this

@F1jones

Ай бұрын

I've heard this story before. Never seems to work out the way people who say this about ovals/superspeedways think it will.

@tylermathis-kx7pu

Ай бұрын

@@F1jones I think it would help. Showing off that kind of racing then telling people “Guess what? You won’t see that again the rest of the year” is not a recipe for success.

It's the Kentucky Derby of open wheel racing. Casual fans only care about it once a year. You can't replicate the lore and tradition of 100+ years. It also helps that the IMS provides a thrilling and high-risk brand of racing.

@tylerensminger

Ай бұрын

Indycar should bring back it's triple crown then. If there was a shot at one this year the Belmont would be packed

@michaelgawel5823

Ай бұрын

​@@tylerensminger - interesting 🤔

@randygravel2057

Ай бұрын

I was gonna say Tour de France. Kentucky derby is better comparison

@bartsullivan4866

Ай бұрын

But they could have promoted Detroit or mentioned the next race during commercial breaks especially during the long rain delay instead of just show last years race.

i remember the big 3 back in the 70s..Pocono-Indy-Ontario!

Lift that ban forever some of us have kids , lives. I have been a Speedway IN resident for 52 years and alway tried to go but some residents cant go one reason or another. Lift the TV ban!!

@TheJingles007

Ай бұрын

But how else will Roger Penske be able to afford a second luxury private jet?

@happygster922

Ай бұрын

Never even knew this was a thing. What a moron.

@codyjarvis

Ай бұрын

I trekked my 3 year old from Oklahoma and camped out for 3 days at ims. He had more fun than all the adults in the stands

@codyjarvis

Ай бұрын

Zero empathy especially if you are a speedway resident I had to wait 25 years to go and had to drive 10 hours

@Michael-gu5kl

Ай бұрын

Ok lift the ban and then see how long it takes for IMS to look like it does for the Brickyard 400! NOT LONG

Dave, you pretty much answered your own question. It's not one thing either. But here is something else. Years ago, Tony Kanaan made a statement on the difference between Brazilian sports fans and American sports fans. He said in Brazil, we have 2 sports. Football and racing. In America, you have so much going on the sports fan has a lot to choose from. Their attention spans are short and trends change rapidly.

@Jalreal

Ай бұрын

Very true!

@bartsullivan4866

Ай бұрын

You are totally spot on. So many options but Indycar doesn't take advantage of that. After the Superbowl Indycar should be promoting like mad and get in more races after St. Pete to draw viewers before Baseball gets going or the NBA playoffs. There is a lull that indycar should be taking advantage of and it seems like they are too relaxed. The TV show should run the full season and be on a bigger platform nobody watches the damn CW. If your trying to compete against Drive to Survive get on Amazon or a platform that gets eyeballs like HBO.

INDYCAR needs to get rid of all the breaks in the schedule

@miketwotwenty

Ай бұрын

Well I say have a break after the Indy 500! Indycar needs a few more races Richmond, Watkins glen, Kansas, lime rock, and New Hampshire!

@scsmith4604

Ай бұрын

This is absolutely correct. Why can't they run every week or every other week?

@bartsullivan4866

Ай бұрын

The worst one is after St. Pete before Long Beach get rid of Thermal and put in Phoenix or another oval somewhere in the warm weather states IMO. Prime opportunity since the Super bowl is over before baseball gets started and a lull in sports to watch.

@scsmith4604

Ай бұрын

@@bartsullivan4866 Thermal should have been a Kart race

@bartsullivan4866

Ай бұрын

@@scsmith4604 just unnecessary and no points just a waste of time really maybe racing in Brazil or Mexico or somewhere south of the border would have been a better option.

The first mistake is having Detroit right after the 500. Going from 220 mph, wheel-to-wheel racing to tooling around streets designed for buses and taxicabs is the opposite of compelling. Then they put the race on the USA network. Not everybody has cable, so you lose a lot of casual fans right there. As an "old-timer", I wish they would go back to running at Milwaukee the week after the 500, the way they used to, then a Saturday night race at Texas. Put Detroit back on Father's Day weekend, where it was in the '90s. Then later in the season, return to Michigan Speedway in late July or early August for a 500-mile race. I know times are different than they were back then, but CART and NASCAR would both race at Michigan in the month of August, about two weeks apart, and the stands would be full for both races. The 500 was almost a "perfect storm" situation, with the long rain delay, pushing the race almost into prime time, and then the race that people tuned into was one for the ages. NASCAR had a perfect storm with the 1979 Daytona 500, which did as much as anything to propel it from what it had been, into what it became. IndyCar should be doing everything they can to build off of this year's 500.

Amazing idea with the slate of 500 mile races on superspeedway ovals! Season opener at homestead, and going to Michigan/kentucky/texas/chicagoland at different points through the season. That idea combined with having 5 street courses, 5 road courses, 5 short ovals, and 5 superspeedways would be a great recipe.

I remember when the Milwaukee Mile followed the 500. It was an exciting track and continued on with the idea of oval racing. Street races lack the side-by-side that makes racing true racing.

@a.j.morgan5471

Ай бұрын

I was thinking this - need another Midwest oval following up the 500

@markvincent5992

Ай бұрын

You may have a surprise coming, if they got the layout right.

Back on the day the next race after Indy was the next weekend at the Milwaukee Mile. It was heavily promoted as to see the same stars of the 500 in the Chicago market. It was routinely sold out. Same product racing on another oval builds momentum for the casual fan. Next race should be on a oval to grab the new/casual fans that watched the 500.

@ryanfraley7113

Ай бұрын

I’d go Milwaukee, Laguna Seca, Texas, Road America after Indy. Focus first on ovals but get folks to see the IndyCars can be entertaining on roads too.

@ryanfraley7113

Ай бұрын

Maybe also find a way back to Watkins Glen for Northeastern fans.

@repetitivemotion

Ай бұрын

Milwaukee is a great track and great racing

It sucks how there was no promotion for Detroit. I'm from Detroit and have been going for the past 4 years. It's sad

We need to get more of the casuals (or just Indy 500 fans) to be hard-core IndyCar fans. I have an idea more superspeedway ovals please. Also better promotion and marketing for all races would help. The 500 is awesome but IndyCar has so much more to offer.

@michaelcline1962

Ай бұрын

Formerly a lifelong NASCAR fan. Attended my first 500 on Sunday. Not only will I be back next year, I’ll also be attending the Long Beach GP in 2025. I’m all in on IndyCar now.

@TheJingles007

Ай бұрын

Idk if super speedways would be safe for Indy car

@happygster922

Ай бұрын

@@TheJingles007nor would they be all that interesting. Daytona and Talladega are easy flat in stock cars, let alone in an IndyCar. It’s not a matter of driving skills at that point, but more about your spotter giving you good guidance and getting lucky with wreck avoidance.

@PazLeBon

Ай бұрын

@@happygster922 and indy isnt?

@happygster922

Ай бұрын

@@PazLeBon lol, no.

You are spot on with the overuse of Grand Prix. It makes them sound like knock off F1. More Ovals more balance between all 4 disciplines that make IndyCar great

The interest is still high for a lot of us; in my opinion, our family still goes to ALL the OVALS. This year they lost Texas, but gained the Milwaukee mile. They lost “15 Ovals” in the past ten or twelve years… THAT is what is wrong with the Indy Car Series, in my opinion.

Excellent point about the economy crash in 2008 damaged Indy500. The 2010s didn’t go the way we thought. Then 2020 happened. I wish IndyCar was more successful

@ramblinman4197

Ай бұрын

I honestly believe the way the reunification happened was as much of a problem as the economic crash. Reunification was supposed to fix everything but, by 2010, they were already dropping ovals for street courses and adding ChampCar things like push-to-pass. I enjoyed watching both series, but the biggest draw for watching CCWS, besides the fact that they raced at Road America, Cleveland, and Milwaukee (where the IRL didn't at the time) was to see who Paul Tracy would crash into, or what other driver would do something stupid. A lot of their events didn't really have much racing, and their TV audience by the point of reunification was not very large. The only one of those three venues I listed that IndyCar picked up right away was Milwaukee (which was on the schedule before reunification). Instead of adding Road America or Cleveland, they instead started events at such horrible street courses like Baltimore, Houston, a Chinese street race that never happened, and recently Crashville. It is like IndyCar picked everything that was wrong with CCWS and decided to adopt those things. I am shocked they didn't try to keep San Jose or the Streets of Vegas with their railroad crossings.

@hickoryhound

Ай бұрын

@@ramblinman4197 Agree 100%. The Indycar Powers That Be pushed gimmicks over cars. Push to Pass and the Red and Black tire compounds are gimmicks. They have never made for better racing. In fact, Push to Pass has become a major embarrassment. Honda says that Indycar needs a third engine manufacturer or they are out. Penske, the owner of the series, runs Chevrolet who looks to be given an advantage and Penske's people don't seem to be listening to Honda. So what is going to happen when half the field no longer has an engine supplier?

@ramblinman4197

Ай бұрын

@@hickoryhound I agree. Lots of gimmicks to try to make street racing more exciting.

It took me awhile to warm up to road courses , but now I love the whole series .

i just remember Nigel Mansell, my boyhood racing idol :)

Need to re-establish the Triple-Crown and a High Stakes award for achieving it.

This is so true. I’m a member Purdues band and an avid racing fan. Many of my fellow bandmates wanted to just leave after the rain delay and not even watch the race or care about the race. I couldn’t understand why someone would attend the race and not watch. This analogy of the party that a race happens at makes so much sense.

My view about modern racing: It has become sponsor dominated--as with NASCAR. Drivers are expected to represent their sponsor by not being offensive, i.e. vanilla. Back then, the names of the drivers and even the owners were household personalities: Andretti, Foyt, Al and Bobby Unser, Rutherford, Andy Granitelli, etc. Even the same sponsors year in and year out became part of racing. How many people even care any more who sponsors a car? Back then, the drivers and owners had distinctive personalities which were part of the racing. My point, people might follow the drivers more than the racing: How did Foyt do this weekend? How many people could even name five drivers from the 500?

BRING. BACK. ALLLL. THE. SUPER SPEEDWAYS!!! Michigan, Texas, Pocono. My eyes just welled up thinking about it! 🥹 I miss Michigan soooo much!! 😩

@rebelsoul5980

Ай бұрын

I go to the Nascar Cup Series race at Pocono every year. If Indy went to Pocono I would 100% go, and I am not a huge Indy fan. As an outsider I think Pocono would be an awesome track for Indy!

I go to St. Petersburg every year. Part of Indycar's problem is that it has completely become a B2B venture. It was a Friday. I was in the T1 stands. I listened to a sponsor rep explain to their guests in attendance that "These are the same cars, drivers and teams that run the Indy 500. We are they." I'd say about 2/3's of his group didn't understand what he meant. They didn't understand the concept of a racing series having a full season. They didn't know why anyone involved in the Indy 500 would bother showing up in St. Petersburg. One of them even asked, "Why isn't it an oval then?" These weren't idiots. They were guests who were given the VIP treatment by a company. They just had no interest in the series or the on track. They were there for the event, and the event in St Petersburg is solely about the on track. They were looking for a party and a race broke out.

The people in the infield are the partiers but everyone in the stands is there for the race.

@ntnsty

Ай бұрын

Yes and no. I’ve brought family and friends who wanted to check the bucket list box who were there for the whole package. Have been unsuccessful at turning any of them into true IndyCar fans even though they loved the 500.

The MX-5 Miata cup that travels with IMSA is total proof that spec racing can be way more exciting than F1 in every way. Multiple races a season usually end with like 3 wide dashes to the finish and the top 5 always battle each other swapping spots like it’s MotoGP

@michaelgawel5823

Ай бұрын

Had a chance to watch the Mazdas 2023 during 24-hour Rolex week in Daytona and at the Indy Firestone Grand Prix in St Petersburg. What a blast!

You need: - Good marketing - A video game - „Great storytelling“ - More OEM - more races with standing: Bring back Texas, Michigan and Pocono (500‘s), Cleveland Roger does a great job and has to play catchup because of the years of underinvesting from Tony George

David, it's a bloody shame that you missed out on Indycar in the 80s to mid 90s, prior to the war. Racing as it should be, so much fan and media interest...it was beginning to rival f1 in terms of global popularity. And yes, you're perfectly correct...as an American living in Europe the motor racing landscape is completely different. No need for the big gimmick, the big party. The racing speaks for itself....race after race.

@DennisMerwood-xk8wp

Ай бұрын

Who wants to watch these 12-year-old all-the-same crapwagons? The dumbest silly looking open wheel race cars ever made. Like watching paint drive! Villeneuve's Reynard/Cosworth - hold my beer while I weep!

I think when you have a marquee race you have to accept, to some extent, that you'll always get way more people tuning in for that race. In Australia there's lots of people who barely even care about car racing who will tune in for the Bathurst 1000, and won't watch any other races (even before most other races moved to pay TV only). Lots of people watch Le Mans and won't watch any other WEC race. Even in other sports, a lot of people will watch a grand final/superbowl type event without having watched 1 minute the rest of the year. I don't think it's necessarily a "problem", people can only care about so many things in their lives and it's good that at least you can get people to tune in for that marquee event. That all being said, I absolutely agree with you that more superspeedway races are necessary. As a foreigner who never used to watch oval racing at all, it was superspeedways that got me in to indycar because of how unique and exciting that type of racing is. Pocono and Fontana were some of my favourite tracks to watch and it's a shame they went away.

Put it on free to air Worldwide! The amount of uproar when Sky said they were showing the race for free on KZread in Britain but then back tracked on it when there was the rain delay shows that there is an interest. Being on free to air would attract more sponsors due to a higher audience and the series would get more money through that than any "TV deal". A TV deal is not a deal for the fans! There are at least 10 different nationalities competing in the sport at any one time so putting it on free to air in those countries would gain an audience. Especially Mexico and Argentina. There is an appetite for motorsport there. In Mexico there are posters of Sergio Perez that cover the full height of ten story office blocks. Yet barely anyone knows Pato O'Ward. Even in his home city! I wouldn't have another 500 mile race before the Indy 500 because it woukd ruin the mystery of who might be able to win it. I would make sure there were at least 2 of them after that. Including one as the season finale. Indycar needs to develop a chassis or tyres that will work on the Nascar ovals so that an oval circuit doesn't have to choose between being a Nascar or an Indycar only circuit.

15:01. This is the most important point to me. There is no other racing as exciting as openwheelers on a superspeedway.

I’ve been telling people for a long time oval racing (especially super speedway racing) is what makes INDYCAR special. They should be capitalizing on that more in their marketing, branding and especially their scheduling.

Many excellent points. The reason the race is on USA network is NBC has to cover the French Open and Golf. Also back in the day ABC had to share coverage with ESPN. Finally if we increase this exponentially, many more people watch the Super Bowl than other NFL games. I still wish we had more ovals .

@shaneharrisnj3484

Ай бұрын

But, as time went on, especially in 2006-13, We had had to put up with Marty "Nail in the.... coffin" Reid as the play by play guy. But hey, we still had that banger of a theme song, though.

Why?? Because they don't have hardly any oval track racing at all in the series. And if they ever have an oval track race they hardly ever promote it at all so fans will come out to whatever track it's at to watch it.

@jacobaxton6353

Ай бұрын

A third of the races this year are ovals. Indy, nashville, gateway, 2 iowa, 2 Milwaukee

@henk-jansteneker3422

Ай бұрын

​@jacobaxton6353 that's quite different from previous years tho

INDYCAR NEEDS MORE OVALS!

@mikeherron5952

Ай бұрын

Amen!!!

The problem is Indycar is only promoted on 1 network. Races use to be on multiple networks which meant that those networks would cross promote their upcoming races which in turn promoted the sport. Wide nets catch many fish, small nets catch few fish.

Texas is trying to get them back. Hopefully they can work out a new date that works for everyone. So sad if our home race doesn’t come back. Bring back the night race. That’d be something different than other races, and old school fans will be happy.

@shaneharrisnj3484

Ай бұрын

I hope it happens... and I hope it's just like what Paul Page said in the 2002 Boomtown 500... THEY'RE INCHES AWAY AT 214 MPH!

@ntnsty

Ай бұрын

It’s a 6 hour drive for me and I want to come to that race!

The other problem is..... people don't fly halfway around the planet to see the Sonsio Grand Prix or the Detroit Grand Prix...... you need a whole event like the 500.... only thing close is Long Beach or the newcomer... Iowa with all the events

@IanTheMotorsportsMan_YT

Ай бұрын

IndyCar at Gateway’s promotion is good thanks to Bommarito Automovie Group

Pocono had a lot of the same qualities as the IMS for the cars and the race, but it couldn't draw a crowd either.

It’s crazy the race after Indy isn’t on network tv. How is that not a stipulation of the tv deal?

Got to go to my first 500 this year. Got a perfect view of the winning pass in turn 3. I definitely want to go again In terms of the rating drop-off, Indycar appears to have very little promotion outside of the 500. Indycar needs more marketing which will bring in more fans. Another thing that will help would be a console game, which I hope Iracing can do now that Motorsport games has lost the license.

Simple - The extreme lack of Ovals and consistent dates of races.

My 2 cents: I live within 3 hours of 3 tracks that host races. I cannot recall the last time I saw a race advertised other than Indy.

@ramblinman4197

Ай бұрын

During the 500, and all the races so far this year, there have been multiple ads for Iowa and Nashville (although those are still advertising it as a street race).

@mikehergenroether6160

Ай бұрын

@@ramblinman4197 Okay, but if you're already watching a race, you're likely to tune in for more races. I see nothing either on TV or actual signs/billboards/advertisements re: races at other circuits. They're not bringing in the casual fan and turning them into a full-fledged fan of Indycar.

@ramblinman4197

Ай бұрын

@@mikehergenroether6160 I agree you are correct here. I have not seen any advertising for even Iowa or Nashville during "regular programming." That said, I don't normally watch NBC but they are not advertising anywhere I do watch (including here on youtube!), and I actually live about 2.5 hours from Nashville so, yeah, that is not good!

I’ve always thought David about Indycar coming here to the UK. At the British Grand Prix we get 400.000 people but for arguably the 2nd biggest motorsport event in the UK the BTCC you are getting tops 15k, if Indy came to brands hatch and trust me we want it, you would get 80k hardcore racing fans😊

@I_Evo

Ай бұрын

Technically I think the second largest motorsport attendance would be the MotoGP with around 100k over the weekend. Anyway I think a fly-away race and certainly two could put a severe financial strain on some of the smaller IndyCar teams budgets, IndyCar as a series would need to subsidize some of the costs.

1 key attribute to the draw for the 500 that I have heard is the build up and fanfare for the pre-race festivities. The Purdue band, driver introductions, the delivery of the American flag, singing Back Home Again in Indiana, and more mean a LOT for the larger central Indiana area. It’s an identity that hundreds of thousands of people claim which cannot be replicated at Mid-Ohio, Toronto, or Gateway.

As someone who has been in the stands for 35 Indy 500s and was raised there, I can say that yes, the feeling around town was more all-encompassing in the 1970s and 1980s than today - half the TV and radio commercials involved racing, all gas stations had Welcome Race Fans banners, one local news channel spent the last 15 minutes of an hour newscast at IMS - but there were still plenty of fans at the race who didn’t follow it (especially in the infield) or were Indy 500-only fans. I think that percentage actually has dropped with the reduction of the infield crowd. Most of the people in our part of the track had on auto racing themed merch and followed the race. I have relatives, including my mother, who will listen to the race, follow everything all month, but won’t or might watch other IndyCar races. Why? Because it’s the Indianapolis Damn 500. It is The Super Bowl of auto racing. Just as you have people who’ll watch on Super Sunday but not Game 9 in November, people will watch this race but not Michigan (when they ran there) or Road America. Going to bet there was significant dropoff between the Indy 500 and Milwaukee back in the day.

The IRL "Indy Racing League", "Indy Cars". You have a racing sanctioning body that is focused and built around one track, one event, "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing". No small wonder why interest drops off substantially afterward. You've essentially built your entire league around one race. Can you imagine NASCAR calling itself the "Daytona Racing League", ."Daytona Cars" etc? I don't know how you fix it without taking some of the shine off of the indy race, which frankly, I absolutely love for all the reasons you point out. I'll bwager there are casual fans that do not realize there is an indy car season!

I have great seats in Turn 3 and watch the Snake Pit event. I do not know if this occurs every year, but the Snake Pit concluded well before the race ended (maybe lap 150). The crowd dispersed and likely enjoyed the race during its final laps. I think the Snake Pit event is a big, big win. More profit is what drives IMS' steady improvements. It is a microcosm within a macrocosm.

It falls off because you dont have high speed ovals like you used to. Froget fan attendance its way more fun to see high banked ovals than short ovals and road courses

The old triple crown days, if Pocono wasn’t so dangerous I’d love to see Michigan and Pocono with 500 mile events.

I think David your view is from an American prespective and you may need to look outside the box. I attended my first Indy 500 on Sunday with a tour group of about 50 kiwis. I am actually still in Indianapolis as we are staying on to watch New Zealand midget driver Michael Pickens compete in midget week and take in a few WOO races aswell. I also have attend Le Man's and the Bathurst 1000. My first impression of the Indy 500 was what I call the American culture of entertainment first. We came across many people who weren't educated on general motorsports and were clearly their for the party and entertainment factor. Up on the mountain at the Bathurst 1000 is very comparable to some who attend the indy 500, but at least up on the mountain at Bathurst mixed in with the alcoholic beverages, all the fans are motorsport knowledgeable and follow a driver or either Ford or Holden. The focus at the indy 500 needs to be in the drivers and motorsports more so Indycar. If you look outside of the US, Indycar has gained a larger following in New Zealand due to the 3 kiwis competing and Australia given Scott McLaughlins success in supercars and of course Will Power. In New Zealand Indycar races including practice, qualifying and the race are on live TV via Sky TV New Zealand. At indy there should have been a focus on the non American drivers including the country of origin. I thought it would have been cool to have had a Kiwi village set up onsite with Kiwi food being available, a pub and some rugby goal posts and a ball. Give American motorsport fans a taste of the Kiwi culture..Scott McLaughlin would be the first one their wearing an All Black rugby jersey walking around in shorts and jandels. It would have been awesome to have gone to an Agustin Canapino, Argentinean village and mix with some Argentinian fans... You could do the same for all the drivers who race under a different countries flag. Even at the Chill Bowl, Michael Pickens gets to walk around the track carrying the New Zealand flag at driver introductions. There are opportunities to make small changes at the indy 500 to make the overall experience better...

@Jalreal

Ай бұрын

Unless you want obnoxious USA! USA! USA! chants breaking out and irritating all the international fans/drivers, I would avoid making these changes.

@ryanfraley7113

Ай бұрын

Once IndyCar exits the spec era then fans will start to educate themselves more about the engineering. I admit I’m not an expert but the engineering can be fascinating once we get out of the spec rut.

@mikehardy1912

Ай бұрын

​​​​@@Jalrealthat's ok mate. We international sports fans and athletes including Driver are use to that whether it's a rugby game, rugby league, cricket or football game. It common for fans from the different countries to mix at the game and at the pub watching the game on a big screen. The chanting at rugby game between the South African supporters and Kiwi fans is something to behold. It's something Americans don't understand as you don't compete in sports that pit a nation versus nation in sporting competitions

@DennisMerwood-xk8wp

Ай бұрын

@@mikehardy1912 Dump these spec Dallara's. Who wants to watch these 12-YEAR-OLD all-the-same crapwagons? The dumbest silly looking open wheel race cars ever made. Like watching paint dry! Scotty Dixon has been driving THE SAME CAR for 12-years in arow - with only a different paint job every year! Villeneuve's Reynard/Cosworth - hold my beer while I weep!

In My Opinion: Indycar has regressed back to the 1970s, where the series basically only exists to serve The Indianapolis 500 and the rest of the calendar doesn't get any promotion at all or limited promotion at best for events like St. Petersburg, Long Beach and the Iowa Double-Header. Combine the fact that what the fans saw at Indy racing-wise isn't going to be replicated anywhere else this year, plus the next race a week later is some sketchy street track in downtown Detroit that basically only exists because some General Motors executives wanted a race outside of their offices and... Yeah... I wish I had a genuine answer as a fix to this, but honestly? It's incredibly difficult to try and market racing to more and more fans of non-motorsport activities, as there's more of them out there now than actual motorsport enthusiasts. The Indy 500 is a race that's going to go on regardless if there's a series, but the party aspect and non-racing stuff being marketed so heavily is going to hurt the sport of Indycar racing long-term.

Different manufacturers with different engine styles would be ideal. V8 Chevy vs v6 Ford vs hybrid 4 cylinder Honda with all cars having a max HP of 700. NASCAR also needs this

@simrigpc27b12

Ай бұрын

Ford is never coming back to Indycar. They've stated this openly.

@miketwotwenty

Ай бұрын

I say Toyota, and Alfa Romeo need to come to Indycar!

@simrigpc27b12

Ай бұрын

@miketwotwenty it's been 12 years, nobody is coming lol. Sad but true.

@DennisMerwood-xk8wp

Ай бұрын

You nailed it my man! Dump these spec Dallara's. And two essentially identical engines. Who wants to watch these 12-YEAR-OLD all-the-same crapwagons? The dumbest silly looking open wheel race cars ever made. Like watching paint dry! Villeneuve's Reynard/Cosworth - hold my beer while I weep!

As a Hoosier who has been to The Brickyard 400 and several instances of 'The greatest spectacle in traffic jams' Lifting the broadcast ban definitely had me tuning in. If I'm going to the race, I'm going to the race. I've never based my decision on whether it was on TV or not... This is a relic of closed circuit TV, Ali-vs-Frazier era. Watching the rest of David's video, I guess I kind of missed the point, but I don't like being race-blocked.

We need like in the 90s, have the next race be a short oval to keep up the oval racing intrigue.

We’re an Indy family, and we brought about 7 teens who never been to a race before this year. Well everyone of these kids are already asking about next year. There is something in the air, at the 500. It’s really a beautiful thing

Bring back the U.S. 500 at Michigan and run it 4th of July weekend.

I was at the Indy 500 in the late 80s and 90s; it was always a PARTY where the race happened to happen. The fans were not like Nascar fans. They were fallen down drunk, all the time. The golf course was a public outdoor pee course. And that was true in the golden era. The golden era was Michael Andretti vs Al Unser Jr.

Why did they not advertise upcoming races, talk about the calendar, the championship at all during the broadcast? And there was so much social media content leading up to and after the 500, but radio silence for every other race.

@NotSteveCook

Ай бұрын

The NBC broadcast did. I watched it Monday evening after being there in person.

@marcellakilgarriff

Ай бұрын

@@NotSteveCook I must have missed it then, we get the NBC broadcast in Ireland with Sky Sports F1 but we don't have any of the ads, the Sky IndyCar team take over the commentary so sometimes things are a bit different. I still feel more focus could have been given to the overall championship, there was no real emphasis on the Indy 500 being part of something bigger than just this one race.

@NotSteveCook

Ай бұрын

@@marcellakilgarriff This has been a problem for decades. The late Dan Gurney addressed this (and other issues) to the USAC board of directors in 1978, but it fell on deaf ears. Whether it's been USAC, CART, IRL, or the reunited IndyCar, the series remains a group of minor races no one outside the fan base cares about, plus the Indy 500. They need to think outside the 465.

Nice job articulating what we are all feeling. Hope Detroit puts on a banger. I just love this series. And want more of it!!

Why Does IndyCar Interest Fall Off After the Indy 500? Because IndyCar itself only cares about the Indy 500.

@scsmith4604

Ай бұрын

That, in a nutshell, is the biggest issue.

@patlatorres7000

Ай бұрын

Tony George ONLY cared about "his" race, everything else was to promote Indy! So, he effectively killed one of, if not THE top racing series in the world and clearly the top racing series in the U.S.!

@hickoryhound

Ай бұрын

@@scsmith4604 I think Indycar teams care about more, but they want a big payoff for minimal investment. Indy is a big payoff that finances the year's operation. They need to get more money into the series. The way to do that is to open up the rulebook to get more manufacturers and chassis and tires into the series, instead they have done the opposite.

@patlatorres7000

Ай бұрын

While not saying that it's the correct position, that was entirely what Tony George wanted! He didn't really care about the rest of the season, he just wanted "his" race to get the big spotlight. First off, pay double points for ALL the 500 milers. A second 500 mile race at the end of July and then end the season with a third 500 mile race, which if the points were anywhere near close would bring a lot of interest onto the final race -- ending with the California 500 at Fontana always made that an important race.

I may misunderstand what you mean by party, but I’m going to push back on the idea that 70% of the people at the Indy 500 are there for the party. Are most people there with friends, throwing back some cold ones, enjoying themselves at the race… Sure. But they are keeping up with the race. In the section that I was in - section A - I would say 90% of the people around me stayed in their seats the entire race. Plus for many families and friends there’s a decades long tradition of going to the Indianapolis 500. But as you said, it is a unique event. I agree with a person who said that it is like the Kentucky Derby. I watch the Kentucky Derby and don’t watch any other horse race the entire year. Many people are like that about the Indy 500..

Interesting, I'm a very new Indycar fan (2021) living outside of the US, I'm getting the idea they're trying to be more like F1 but doing it in a bit wrong way that they don't get the interest of the F1 fan and lose a bit of their identity. When I got into racing (2019) I always thought the idea of oval racing was dumb and boring, now I think the oval races are the best.

It's the old USAC issue of the Indy 500 and the 7 dwarfs. And the CART/IRL issue of Long Beach race day attendance: 98,000 TV: 69,000. Nobody is watching. And my solution has always been simple: TV should reflect the fanbase. EX: Most people walk around in jeans. Not Hugo Boss. Great content, keep going, DL.

I'm a big race fan. Grew up with IRL and CART and I don't care about Detroit. I don't care about majority of today's Indycar schedule. If we had more ovals then it would be a different story. It would be great to have Michigan 500 as US 500 again and put it around 4th of July!

Ik some people won’t agree with me but my wish list for the IRL is this 1. Bring back the Ovals, especially the triple crown 500 mile races 2. Bring back the exciting stories of stock block engines vs race engines & the different chassis makers (allow like 3-4 brands such as Dallara, Lola, Panoz, & McLaren to list a few) 3. Find a new network outside of ABC/NBC. They need to try Fox, ESPN, or TNT/TBS 4. Stop the Street courses or some of them & instead promote the dedicated road course circuits 5. F1 & IndyCar should do a race together on the same weekend @ the same circuit like how the Nascar Trucks & IndyCars do (or did) at Texas to help bring fans to the IndyCars

I think your point is valid. I think in terms of packaging, there is more that can happen. In the 1990s, there was the magic of the commentary of Uncle Bobby and Sam Posey. In terms of "The Party Thing" Indycar needs Walkins Glenn. Indycar also needs Milwaukee to be treated more than just another race. There is more, but what needs to happen here is slow managed growth. I wish this could happen tomorrow, but no.

Maybe move Texas or Milwaukee back to the weekend after the 500. Indycar also needs a few super-speedways not just Indy.

Man, hearing you discuss Le Mans makes me remember my early yrs of 500 attendance (1991-1995) where is was exactly as you described Le Mans. I truly hate that the 500 is a party that has a race these days...... This thing used to be so great, sadly it's really lost everything it used to be, for me anyway. A great finish isn't enough to make up for that deficit.

I wish indycars would come back to australia .indycar on the gold coast in the old days we had indycar nascar and v8 supercars in the same race weekend .its was a great race weekend

Triple Crown and Texas 500k and a 400 mile race. Oval racing would be Great !.

I'll dive in here with some comments and yes this might get a bit long winded. I've been following motorsports since the 1960s and was directly involved from 1977 through 2003 and watched Champ Car/Indy Car racing as it climbed and then plummeted. First off, there do need to be more 500 mile races on the schedule and a 500 mile race HAS TO BE on a "Super Speedway" -- which means a track of 2 miles or more! How many of these are left? Fontana has been trashed, but what other tracks are still available? Is St Louis still standing? Michigan, Homestead, what others? Getting back to a "Triple Crown" series within the overall series. These cars shouldn't be racing on anything less than 1.5 mile tracks, they're just to darned fast for a one mile track. Get back to multiple chassis! Have a set of specifications and put them out there for everyone. I well remember the days when there were three or four chassis at the track. Also multiple engine manufacturers. Here is your displacement maximum, here is your turbo boost limit -- series owned pop-off valves can easily control the usable boost. Go so far as to GIVE a series owned pop-off valve to ANY manufacturer that is interested in building an engine -- they aren't going to alter the valve, because they'd only hurt those using their engine to do so. The engine leases are here to stay, face it, after Pat Patrick passed the Illmore engine off to Alfa Romeo, no engine manufacturer is going to let their product off of a VERY SHORT leash -- it's unfortunate, but true! Television coverage? Get as many of the races as possible back on over-the-air broadcasting. Many people have cut the cable/satellite umbilical, the cost is getting too high. And try to get as many races as possible on ONE network, so they sell the entire season to one network, which makes it worth their while to promote the series! Speaking of "the season", push the schedule up to 16 to 20 races. They had this many races and it was successful enough that F-1 was threatened by it! Tony George wanted HIS race to be the center of everything and look where that took the series. At the same time, re-arrange the type of racing. Three or four (max) street races, and split the rest evenly between ovals and permanent road courses. Having said that, it's an unfortunate truth that the number of race fans across the country has dropped, there are just too many other diversions for our free time. I'm saying this as one that spent 28 years involved in motor sports on the inside, as an official with the S.C.C.A. (20 years) and C.A.R.T./Champ Car (18 years), so I have an obvious bias towards road racing. But, street courses are generally too tight for good racing (look at Monaco this year for an example); A good oval race, provides some high speed wheel to wheel racing; a permanent road course provides for some serious "hero" style late dive passing (look at Laguna Seca, Road America and Mid-Ohio). Shoot for a MAXIMUM of three weeks between any two races. Slipping the Indy Grand Prix a week ahead of Indy qualifying is a great lead in to the 500! Put on a local media blitz in the market area for each race two months and then again three weeks prior in each market area. These are just some ideas. The fact is, Indy Car/Champ Car racing was REALLY big before, it should be possible to get there again. Yes Indy is a crown jewel of the series, but it shouldn't be at the cost of the rest of the series! perhaps also include the "Triple Crown" 500 mile series and the Road Racing series (w/o the street races) as two other series within the series and bring back the manufacturer's and engine championships as well.

@hickoryhound

Ай бұрын

Yes to all, but Milwaukee mile and New Hampshire a great 1 mile ovals and staying at Iowa and St Louis is fine. You don't need them all, but these are good disciple tracks. A race a Texas is fine. To me races at Texas are as much a death trap as they claim Pocono to be.

Great points David. As a Canadian I head to Toronto for the race every year. When I attended my first (then Molson Indy) was to see in person the cars and drivers of the Indy 500. I appreciate it has always been marketed on 'Indy'. It wasn't the Toronto Grand Prix ... it was the Molson Indy, now Honda Indy Toronto. And yes, more 500s please. If not Indy, Michigan, Pocono then Indy, Homestead and Nashville SS or Michigan or Texas or wherever. But lean into and market the 'Indy' more.

Most intriguing thing for me is the fear aspect of Indy 500. The scariest most on edge race to watch ever period.

I went for the 'happening' aspect in 2017, and now im a huge motorsports fan

I attended my 33rd Indy500. I can say from my group of 15 that we met up with for the 500 you have a great point. Of the 15, 4 at most follow the series. My son and I went to Long Beach. Five people attended the GP. 3 attended the 500 because of the tradition that left with 70 laps to go, and we had 4 first timers. Im guessing 3 will watch Detroit this weekend.

At the end you talked about Indycar getting closer to where they want to be. I have been wondering for awhile now, if Indycar really knows where they want to be.

I just got back from my first Indy 500, which was absolutely incredible. I've also been to the last two Detroit Grand Prix. The casual fan doesn't care about the Indy 500, nor do they need to. Promote other races as a fun experience for everyone - especially for those who don't follow motorsport. I think more people would enjoy motorsport if they felt welcomed.

People expected the old days to return after the 2008 merger and the 2009 firing of Tony George. The problem is we didn’t return to the competitive battle between chassis and the engine program didn’t really flesh out either (Chevrolet and GM coming in to largely dominate the series and Honda being largely disoriented and disinterested). As much as I hate to bring up the Crapwagon days, I don’t think we have got enough of the elements of the golden age for the other races Indy notwithstanding because that competition was dismantled in the name of “cost savings”. The product hasn’t been as good as it was since the late 80’s early 90’s Golden Age. As much blame lies with the guy who dismantled that Golden Age, TG isn’t there anymore and it’s up to the people who watch over it now to fix it. I think Roger knows this but I’m not sure he has enough buy in from the folks at the Speedway who largely took their cultural cues from Tony.

@michaelgawel5823

Ай бұрын

Makes you wonder. Good remarks!

@ramblinman4197

Ай бұрын

Tony George has been gone far long enough for this to be a TG issue any more. TG may have partially caused the second split but, by the time unification had happened, CCWS had pulled plenty of boners of their own doing -- including leaving ovals all together and adding some real snooze-fest events -- and post-unification IndyCar seems to be following their lead much more than Tony's.

@ryanfraley7113

Ай бұрын

⁠@@ramblinman4197True but I’d also argue a lot of the folks at 16th and Georgetown were hired by TG and it’s still an influence. That where the whole spec racing influence comes from.

@ryanfraley7113

Ай бұрын

@@ramblinman4197I do wonder if Panoz should have been kept as a chassis supplier for IndyCar in some capacity specifically to work on their own competition to the DW12. That’s a big what if I have.

@ramblinman4197

Ай бұрын

@@ryanfraley7113 the part about who hired folks might be true, but the spec series influence not so much. In 2006, CCWS decided to go to a completely spec series for 2007 with one engine and one chassis (the DP01) and George had nothing to do with that decision. In reality, CCWS was a spec series even before that as every team used Cosworth power and Lola chassis for at least two season prior to 2007. CCWS was more of a spec series than the IRL was when they unified.

IMSA GTP engines in the spec dallara chassis would be an easy button.

@tbh791

Ай бұрын

Those powerplants are too big, they wouldn't fit. Need a whole new car

I agree with the suggestions you made at the end. A different chassis and power plant would just be more interesting. Being able to hear and see the differences between manufacturers would be great. Have Oreca come and make a chassis and Dallara make their new chassis for Chevy. The ties are already their in IMSA.

i don’t think i heard anything about the rest of the series throughout the race on sunday, not even mentions of results at barber or championship positions, let alone what’s coming up next.

@Jalreal

Ай бұрын

They never do and I can't understand why. NBC airs multiple races throughout the season, too. They had a ton of time to plug it waiting on the rain to stop. Wtf!

Indycar blows my mind with how bad they do at marketing themselves. It’s so bad it almost feels purposeful. Market yourself, add 3 more races to the schedule, and get rid off all the in-season breaks.

Indycar is unique compared to its closest competitions in that its biggest prize is not the series championship. The Daytona 500 for NASCAR and Monaco for F1 are marquee events for their respective series but I can't imagine that their drivers would say winning those races is a bigger deal than winning the championship. If there was a way to place more emphasis on the season-long championship without diminishing the importance of the Indy 500, that'd get more people to tune into the other 16 races.

@Jalreal

Ай бұрын

Exactly right it's just hard to figure out how they could do that without it feeling manufactured.

I've thought about this subject recently. It'd be nice to see IndyCar have a resurgence after an unreleased video game, off iRacing then returning back, Honda maybe leaving, charters + locked in Indy 500 spots, TV ratings decline (other than Indy 500), and a cheating push to pass scandal. Hopefully the new TV deal is good for fans and the series. Michigan > Belle Isle > Downtown Detroit. Belle Isle was overhated, underrated, and underappreciated.

@michaelgawel5823

Ай бұрын

Belle Isle was a beautiful Street chorus, remind me of some of the F1 street races - very elegant compared to the downtown course!

I'm from Indianapolis and have been an IndyCar fan since the late '90s, during CART/IRL. Elementary school-aged me didn't know why there were two IndyCar Series back then, nor why only one raced at Indy. Along with NASCAR and dirt oval racing, I watched as much as I can of it on TV or in person since the turn of the century. It's my favorite type of car to drive in sim racing besides dirt oval. I've always thought of IndyCar as one of the most underrated auto racing series these days.

For my part, I am a fan of ovals. I don’t even watch street or road courses. I am only 4 miles from Kansas Speedway. When the Indy Racing League dropped all the ISC tracks ( Chicagoland, Kansas, California, Kentucky ), it broke my heart because I am not a NASCAR fan, especially the trucks (!) and that’s what is raced at Kansas now. That being said, Iowa is too short a track. I really miss Michigan…I watched a tremendous CART race there in the 90’s. I HATE that Indycar has become CART redux…more road races than ovals. CART went belly up then their drivers began to come over to the IRL. Oh, well, I can watch sprints and midgets on ovals. It’s just that I watch these cars for the speed and the skill of the drivers on ovals, and when they are on road or street courses, they go so slowly and can’t pass very much. Also…remember when they had the 3 race

@gagemcpherson1956

Ай бұрын

I live in Wichita Kansas use to attend all the Indycar races at Kansas from 2001-2010 as a kid growing up go to the Indy 500 every year been to Texas several times wish they would put Kansas back on the schedule

Someone (something) needs to be on top. The tradition of the Indy 500 makes it special and remarkable. Disappointing I will admit as I love all Indy car racing. But, there can be only one number one.

Not too hard to figure out. In the 5 1/2 hour pre-race show was there: -A graphic showing the entire Indycar 2024 schedule? No. -A highlights package showing the action from the first 5 races of the season ( and, yes, show the crashes for those who only watch for those) and showing the race winner on the podium with their name on the screen to increase name and face recognition? No. -A graphic showing the point standings after the first four events? No. -An interview with the points leader talking about how the SEASON is going for them and what their confidence level of keeping up their winning ways for the SEASON? No. -Then an interview with driver in second place in points asking what it will take for the rest of the SEASON to catch the points leader? No. -Any ads during the commercial breaks for the next race in Detroit? No. -Any graphics for the next race in Detroit during the race? Only in the last 30 seconds of the broadcast. -Any live read by Diffey during the race saying, "Hey fans, if you like what you see, good news, there's another race next Sunday!" No. It's well and good to show live points during the race and the points standings after the race, but it doesn't do any good IF YOU DON'T SET THE TABLE BEFORE THE RACE AND EXPLAIN TO THE CASUAL VIEWER WHAT IT MEANS! Is it written in the TV contact that the SERIES can't be talked about at all during the Indy 500 coverage? (Dare I say, ABC did a better job of promoting the series and the race following the 500 than NBC does.) In your interview with Pato two years ago, he mentions people asking what he does for a living and he tells them - Indycar driver. And they reply with, "that's only one race, right?" If you don't talk about the SERIES when you have the largest TV audience of the year, HOW WILL THEY KNOW IT'S A SERIES AND NOT JUST ONE RACE AND THAT THERE IS SOMETHING TO COME BACK TO THE NEXT WEEK AND WEEKS AFTER THAT? Oh, and just watch - at Detroit, there will be a graphic showing the points standings going into the race within the first 5 minutes of the start of the broadcast. Something that couldn't be done in a rain delayed 5 1/2 pre-race show this year or the normal a 90 minute Indy 500 pre-race shows in the past few years. Update: In the FP1 session for Detroit on Peacock, we got the points standings AND the rest of the 2024 schedule within the first 10 minutes of the coverage. Update 2: So they decide to show a brief season highlights package from the first few races just before the Detroit race on USA network - but could not be bothered to do that before the 500 with the largest TV audience of the season. Unbelievable.

I agree with your suggestions, but just think; they can change car specs, locations, race duration, etc., but what I'm saying is that none of that matters if the viewing public never hears about the races. And I'm talking about my local experience; the L.A. market! Whoever is in charge of race promotion needs a stern talking to! Thank you for your attention to this, David; it's been infuriating me for years!

ABC/ESPN and FOX have sports networks and endlessly promote F1 and NASCAR respectively.

@shaneharrisnj3484

Ай бұрын

But ESPN uses the Sky UK feed instead of doing their own like how NBC and SPEED did back then. Meanwhile, Fox doesn't even TRY when it comes to their NASCAR coverage. Gone are the quality days of 2001-13, and here we are, 2014-later... the downfall of Fox as a tolerable NASCAR TV provider. And DON'T get me started on FS1's Craftsman Truck Series coverage.

@TheJingles007

Ай бұрын

NASCAR is barely promoted by Fox.

@shaneharrisnj3484

Ай бұрын

@@TheJingles007 Exactly what I said... They don't even TRY.

For me it's the constant commercials in race coverage. I can stomach it once a year for the 500, but outside of that there's only so many times I can go through the cycle of cut to commercial, followed by a Leigh Diffey vocal commercial read as soon as we return before I want to set fire to my TV. "While you were away" are the worst words in sport.

I’ve been sitting in turn 1 since my first 500 in 1994. As passionate as the fans are around me I always get a deer in headlights look from them after I’ve asked them if they are going to any other races on the series this summer.

I'm an up and coming fan. This last Sunday was my 3rd Indy 500. I would like to see more but I also don't care about racing on tv. It just does not translate how it feels to be at the track with 300,000 other people and cars going 230mph. The Indy 500 is an event and other races are just that, a race. I have heard there is a points system but I have no clue how it works or why I should care. I was rooting for Newgarden only for the fact I remembered his name from the previous year and I thought it would be fun to see someone win twice in a row. 1) If I were to care about the other races then those races should mean something in the span of a season. 2) I wan't other racing to be just as fast as the Indy 500 but I would prefer different track types. Not just an oval. 3) Locations are important. If I had the money and time I would go to other races if the location was cool.

@rutchjohnson

Ай бұрын

All in all, if a fan of attending the Indy 500 because of the people I go with. Its an event, we make a weekend out of it. Most importantly it just feels amazing to be there with all those people and its very patriotic. In a time in our country that is so divided Indy day feels like everyone is united.

Back in the CART era, Indy drew about an 8 rating while the other races drew about a 2.5. They need at least one more 500 mile race. People complain about the IRL era, but some of those races were edge of your seat excitement. We now have the aeroscreen so it will be safer. Nothing wrong with this year's schedule if you were to add one or two more 500 mile races.

Is that a wired mouse?! I've seen only one of those in the last 10 years and he's past due for retirement! Great video, as usual. You're so passionate and knowledgeable I always like hearing your opinion.

Well David, figuring out what is good for IndyCar is way above my pay grade. So, thanks ever so much for all of your passion and love of the sport that shines brightly in all of your coverage. Maybe the series should strive to be as uniquely different from all others as much as possible. Back in Dec (sorry) I think you brought up one point that would do just that. New chassis with V-8, V-10, whatever. 100% biofuel- We're being eco-friendly. No hybrid, it's being done to death.

@DennisMerwood-xk8wp

Ай бұрын

ITS THE UGLY CARS STUPID Who wants to watch these 12-year-old all-the-same crapwagons? The dumbest silly looking open wheel race cars ever made. Like watching paint drive! Villeneuve's Reynard/Cosworth - hold my beer while I weep!

SPOT ON David that said though how would you make the tracks like Homestead Texas Kansas which are 1.5 mile tracks to the equivalent of a 500 mile race like Indianapolis or Michigan?