Indy 500 ***SPOILERS***

Go blow it out your pie hole numnuts. Don't like the heat, stay out of the kitchen. Yor living proof as to why Indy Car is failing. You don't listen to facts. So enjoy the heat because its coming your way. And as the gentlemen above stated.....try whinechat,com. You might have better luck convincing people.

 

Seriously....

Indy is being supported by a few old guys who like to go racing and have the money or influence to do it. Once they are gone, no one is going to fill their shoes.

Sponsorship money has been a problem for years and years in this series. Hence, the need to cost reduce by going to what is as close to a spec series as you can get. Luckily, they have 2 engine suppliers or it would be just that.

How this series has fallen from the time of Jimmy Clark and Mario. Innovation is gone in favor of reduced costs for survival.

 

PM me. I can offer you something you might like to hear.

 

But why do people feel the need to go into an Indycar thread to whine about how much they hate Indycar?
There's a whole F1 section. Why go out of your way to rain on someone else's parade?

Maybe I have a different perspective, because I paid no attention at all to CART or IRL.
"Luigi follow only the Ferrari".

I followed F1 and WRC.

When most of my friends from drag racing went to ovals, I tried it once, and never saw the point.
My dad could never explain to me his interest in Richard Petty's Mopars.
I wound up in club rally.

But WRC today is a joke. Maybe it's my experience in the RWD era rallies that makes me dislike modern WRC.
Or maybe it's the way that none of the Japanese builders are allowed to play in a series designed for a french driver in a french car.
But you don't see me going to rally web sites to call the fans names.

And the Mad Max era fouled up F1 enough to get me to tune into IndyCar.

And for the first time, I actually get oval tracks.

And -- more to the point -- the drivers in IndyCar are actually having FUN.
And isn't that why most of us got into racing, back in our own days?

Yes, they're not the most sophisticated cars in the world.
But when FIA banned Renault's ingenious mass damper, it was clear that FIA is no longer a technology development venue, either.

And look at the idiotic tread stripes they tried to put on the tire compounds in F1 --- all to avoid admitting they took the tire rules directly from Indy.
Safety car pit lane rules --- remember how many different failed ideas they went through to try to be different from Indy?

F1 isn't the sport it used to was, either.

I'll admit that the 500 is long enough I tend to doze in the middle.
But the rest of the season is good entertainment, too.
How long since F1 has seen a last corner pass for the lead like in Brazil's Indycar race?

Now I follow both.

If Indycar isn't your cup of tea, fine. But don't be trying to flood the teahouse with your Starbucks.

 

Maybe it it the fact the discussion was about changes that are needed. Some of us here prefer different options being made available in an effort to renew the series. Some simple choose to ignore the information presented and keep telling the same lie that everything is getting better. Offering ones views even if opposing isn't raining on a parade. Several offered solid statements yesterday in relation to the 500 indicating a very nice day and a good turnout for the race, In my view......a good thing. Now...does that mean that Indy Car has turned the corner??? Based on information by the media....no. But it does mean it was a good Indy 500 for those who watched and attended. It doesn't change the fact it is still having issues. Point is....don't sugar coat the facts. It leaves a bad taste in many peoples mouth. Instead offer a rebuttal that supports the argument. Yesterday was a good day for Tony K & Indy Car. Lets see if it continues before raising the flag of success.

And since this is a site that permits us to speak freely...I intend to do so. If you feel that your opinion is not like that of my own. Offer it and I will listen to it. But don''t ask us of a different opinion to change it. Want to see some real differences of opinon. Join us in P&R. There it can get very heated.

 

68 lead changes amongst 14 drivers, 19 drivers on the lead lap at the finish, anyone in the top 10 could have won the race. A great race my any standards.

I saw the comment about judging the health by the sponsorship...the charm of Indy has always been smaller teams getting a chance.

Maybe Indycar hasn't turned the corner but it seems to be setting up corner entry nicely.

 

Haha, well at least it finally picked up! I started one on Camaro5 and only a handful watched either Monaco or Indy!

 

I wasn't. I was asking other why some thought it was on a comeback. It's a legitimate question. I sure don't see it. I see a borderline spec series.

I've been involved in spec series racing. There's only one reason you do this: It's to keep costs down for the teams so that more people can race in a given class. There is one advantage: It lets the better racers and teams rise. But, it also removes all engineering and mechanical possibilities to produce a better car to win. Spec series racing is great for a limited budget.

And I sure wasn't singing the praises of F1. I've been an Indy fan since the early 60's. As a kid, my dad and I would go every year to Phoenix International Raceway and see the greats go around the one mile oval.

But you can put your head in the sand or you can face reality. Those of us who know it can be better want to make it better because we don't want it to die.

It's a car forum. There's nothing wrong with stating your feelings. What there is wrong is for people to say if you state your feelings, you're somehow a hater when the exact opposite is true.

As to the number of passes issue: this is rather meaningless. If it had 200 passes for the lead, it would be the same. It's the last pass that makes the difference and is most important (and the failed attempts to catch the leader), not the others that lead up to it. The yellow flag ending ruined the possibility for that last pass. The air in the balloon went out when someone simply brushed a wall, like 10 other cars did in the race that day.

This is not a way to endure yourself to the fans.

 

I thank you for your thoughts Rob. We were having a nice conversation until someone decided that certain opinions aren't supposed to be voiced. I have tried to maintain my composure, but I do think I have a right to offer my opinion even if others do not agree with it. We can also do without the one upsmenship. Its bad form.

 

As someone who competed at the professional level who represents several race teams and once represented Mr Vasser, i think that the above discourse is silly. Racing is discredionary money. We're coming out of a depression where discresionary money was vastly reduced and there was an idiot in charge of Indy Cars. As the economy picks up so will the sport. Any other comments are someone else's delusions. This thread is a sad commentary on tge egos of some folks around here, not the race.

Art

 

I should be attending that as well.

 

Ummmm.... excuse me. Depression? Yah, it's sure impacted Nascar. Geez it's hardly recognizable now since 2008.

The money flows were the interest and eyeballs are, not the other way around.

 

Great race. Great winner. Great story for two Indy rookies. I honestly did not know who I was pulling for. Tk, Aj, munoz?

In the end, so pleased for tk and the move he made to seal it was all pro!! The cara may not be the prettiest (nor are today's f1 cars) but they race great!!

Another great 500!!!!!

 

I would agree., My opinion is different in relation to the rules and as I stated it is related also to the course of direction the series will take. And with that, I also have a personal involvement with said series. I will leave it at that.

Art: ask me this question in private and I will clarify.

 

TV ratings since 1992. 2005 was Danica's first year. You have to admit, she stopped the slide.

Since the creation of the IRL, the golden age of Indy racing has passed.

4 and a half million people may sound great, but 16.2 million watched the Kentucky Derby, a steady increase over the years which had almost the same viewership as Indy in 1992.

16.2 Million Watch Kentucky Derby on NBC - Ratings | TVbytheNumbers
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I didn't see too many people complaining when Dario won under yellow, in the rain.

Of course, none of the cameras were pointed at the race.
The only thing that yellow flag finish ruined was Ashley's dress.

Quite a few finishes have been under yellow, due to the last second attempts to overtake.

Wasn't last year's race also finished under yellow, after Sato crashed trying to overtake Dario?
I wouldn't call that a boring finish.

And Dan Weldon's 2011 win came after J.R. hit the wall on the final corner.


I'd imagine the ratings on all forms of racing would be in decline, as the younger generation is being told how politically incorrect cars are.
Remember the media fury at Pixar's "Cars", over making a cartoon featuring those "bad" cars?
Or just look at the daily commute. How many "drivers" (sic) on the roads have any clue about vehicle performance?

 

Ask Jimmy France how much he's lost in the last six years. My understanding is that he's dumped eight figures into the sport to keep it going. Crowds are down, many teams have funding issues, and drivers are getting a lot less money on average.

So much for that argument.

Art

 

I don't disagree. But I ask you, which sport is healthier and has been since the creation of the IRL?

 

Sports Now

SPORTS NEWS FROM LOS ANGELES AND BEYOND
Indy 500 postscript: An outcry over ending the race under caution

Indy 500 postscript: An outcry over ending the race under caution - latimes.com

 

Pretty sure that's exactly the website i'm on. Did i miss something?

 

keep in mind he's worth what, ten or eleven figures?

 

What he ^ said

 

The only point I was trying to make was that Indy/Irl appears to be on the upswing - as it relates to enthusiasts like me. Yes it has a long way to go, but they have a lot of good things happening; even the marketing & development of a core set of drivers that are becoming mainstream (Andretti, Hinhcliffe etc)
Whether its only here and in South America - as someone said - it's a start.
Kevin
Still shocked at how these threads turn into pissing matches

 

The Kentucky Derby, really?

Three or four hours of pre-event hype followed by a race that lasts all of (what?) a minute and a half?

Where is the disconnect?

BHW