Indy 500 ***SPOILERS***

Too many uninitiated with the mistaken belief that "real racing" ends under "Green-White-Checkers".

The 900lb gorilla on the block (NASCAR) dosen't write the rules for all racing series (yet)!

And, really, how dare you?

BHW

 

Ok ... let's look at it

Both had similar ratings in 1992. One has been steady and growing, the other in a deep decline.

Both take place at the same time of the year.

Both are special, well promoted sporting events that occur once in a year on a weekend.

Both have been "traditions" in American culture for generations.


I find the fact that one sporting event held steady and grown and the other has been in decline is pretty telling.

 

Sure, will also comment on the TV coverage.

background: I haven't watched an Indy/IRL/CART race in probably 3 years, but recorded Indy and watched it last night and today. I do watch every F1 race I can.
BTW my brother took his wife and 9 and 14 year old boys to the race, don't know if they'll get hooked on motorsports but said they had a great time and will go back.

Anyway, I found myself frequently wishing for more information on how and why so many passes, esp lead changes were happening. Sure I understand drafting but only a handful of times did I see car information like speed, throttle % (pretty much pegged at 100% in 5th out of 6th gear all the way around), don't think lateral G-forces was even included?
Was wishing for that NASCAR feature where instantaneous speeds are given in a box over each car.

There was also very little in-car footage to see how a pass is set up with lines into and exiting a corner.
Result was I got bored and probably FF'd through 1/2 the race. Just seemed mindless to watch the cars zip around, with passes happening at apparently random times without any insightful commentary from the announcers about how it was made.

F1 passes on road courses on the other hand are more easy to dissect: Seb got a better jump out of the previous 2 corners or late-braked the chicane, or whatever.
I know that big ovals take great skill to drive at those speeds, and passes require long set-ups I just couldn't appreciate the moves and the announcers didn't do much if anything to enlighten me.

Tony K seems like a good guy but he forgot to thank his team in Victory Lane...

 

This is crazy for a faltering series. A yellow finish is exactly what this series didn't need for its signature event. Tradition has its place, but that place isn't now. And remember, tradition required mechanics along for the ride at one point....

 

How dare I what? Post a link from the LA Times sports section?

Here's he problem with the remaining Indy car lovers: You'll except anything as long as the car keep running around. For me, that's not enough. I want the series to actually mean something again.

For the purists: Let's go a back and get rid of rear view mirror and add back in a co-driver. It was so much more exciting back then.

 

Your comments regarding the TV coverage are valid and shared by any and all IndyCar fans!

The ideal situation would be for the NBCSN crew to handle the coverage and NBC air it on their prime NBC channel.

 

Actually I worked in NASCAR for about 4 years and they are really hurting right now. Tons of empty stands and the sponsorship has been hurting in that series too. It is a matter of the economy not the racing on track.

MB

 

I was fortunate enough, for my first (and probably not last) Indy 500, to get a seat in Penthouse E, probably one of the best in the house (though a long way up the stairs), purchased from a fellow FChatter. Aside from a trip downstairs around 11:00 to use the facilities and get myself lunch (a recommended pork tenderloin sandwich), I stayed in my seat all day until after the race. Here are a few images, including the largest American flag I think I've ever seen (this is during pre-race practice), Jim Nabors doing his thing (this year, in person) and the traditional balloon release.
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Now to the race. I took a lot of photos; these are just a few. The start was closer to "11 rows of 3 cars" than it had been in years, though Ed Carpenter was already pulling away as they went through turn 1 the first time.

As close as the field was, it was easy to take photos of groups of cars, and lead changes. You should be able to recognize these cars, including T.K. in the eventual winning #11. I was able to catch him crossing the finish line to win, though the checkered flag is hidden behind the scoring pylon. And the big screen was useful to see what I couldn't see in person, including the milk-covered winner. I was rooting for T.K., and it was obvious that his win was immensely popular!

The closeness of the field led to an unexpected phenomenon. I'm used to Indy races where, before long, the field is spread out around the track so that cars are nearly always going by. That didn't happen here! Even well into green-flag segments, the entire field (with only a few exceptions) would be covered by less than 15 seconds. That meant that when this train cleared turn 2 and headed down the backstretch, out of my sight, there would be almost dead silence for over 10 seconds until the field came back out of turn 4 on the next lap! Only the pit-stop sequences broke this train up, but once everyone had cycled through, the train would be back on track!

(The fellow sitting to my right, who had been there every year since 1966, said that the mid-race green-flag period was the longest that he could remember, a major contributor to the 187+ mph record average speed.)
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Awesome. Thanks for sharing.

 

Those photos are spectacular ! Great seat.

 

Mario has some good thoughts about Indy's current state as well;

Mario Andretti: Current TV package is the only thing keeping IndyCar from mainstream popularity - SBNation.com

 

I love Mario, and I agree the TV package sucks, but it's more than that. I won't digress here since this discussion is about the race, but the series has a LOOOONG way to go.

While on the subject of egos and the heated debate here - let's just say this, most of us have all been a fan of American Open Wheel Racing and we are passionate about it. I think the discussion that RP and TheMayor are having are spot on, from different view points.

I'm more in TheMayor's camp, but I absolutely hear what RP is saying - crowds are there, racing is generally decent, some steps forward, etc.

Personally - and anyone can flame me as living in the past, whatever - I want a return to the CART days of the 90's. I know that will never happen, but minimally, these cars have GOT to change. They look horrendous. It's just slightly better than a spec series, and a Formula Atlantic car looks so much nicer...really we have to get something better looking than this. That rear end looks atrocious and frankly, a little silly.

Bring back MAJOR POWER - 800+ HP. Drop the aero NOW. Make the cars HARD TO DRIVE. Fans will return...

 

I'm surprised oval racing is as popular as it is in the US.
The vehicle dynamics are not "ordinary" ... especially as most "drivers" (sic) on the street will come to a full halt before moving the steering wheel a hair.

When I was about 17, I even tried an oval race once -- and I didn't get it.
It took many decades before I started to understand the process.
And, yes, it's still not clear on the TV.

I can look at a setup in F1 (if the TV bothers to show it) and pretty much know before the pass if it's going to happen.
But oval race coverage doesn't really show enough to know if the overtaker has the "set" for the pass.

I suspect the "popularity" comes from channels preferring to carry races they can cover with three or four cameras.
(Compared to the number of cameras to cover a road course. Or the impossibility to cover a WRC stage other than from inside the car or "fan video".)

That, or the number of people just watching to see the crashes.

I doubt most "fans" really understand the racing dynamics.
Around here, most people drive by the motto, "Competence is Elitist".
TV coverage -- especially on the broadcast networks -- are targeted at the "mass market".
So the producers probably figure that the "poor dumb sheeple" wouldn't understand all that speed information "cluttering up the screen".


I'll agree that it looks a bit silly to hang a Countach on the back of an Indycar , but it does seem to have reduced the number of cut tires and collisions resulting from a "nudge".

 

As long as open wheel has this guy! Ran into Mr Miller after the race in victory circle
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And back to the race itself: I, like many of you, was very pleased to see TK win even if it was under caution. I gotta give credit to Carlos Munoz too - that kid could drive. He did everything right with no mistakes I could see. I was a little put off by his post-race interview though. He seemed more than a little arrogant.

Am I the only one who thought the TV coverage was poor? I know there was a lot of passing going on but it seemed like the coverage missed a good portion of the action.

 

Little bit of action the TV missed...

from my spot across from the pits
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Great shot! What section were you in? We were 27, paddock penthouse

 

You aren't the only one with that thought. Here......read this tidbit of amusement...TV ratings droop for Indy 500 | 2013-05-28 | Indianapolis Business Journal | IBJ.com

http://gordonkirby.com/categories/columns/theway/2013/the_way_it_is_no386.html


Just the thing to secure "spec" racing in the history of open wheel racing. Crapwagons lost their appeal about 16 years ago.

 

Um....that is my seat for the last 35 years ( I was only 8 years old then.......).

This year, the Mrs wanted to go to the Indianapolis 500, so I bought some great seats around the Start/Finish line. In that 35+ years, this was the best 500 I have watched. The only exception, when Emerson "sort of" nudged Al Jr out of the way at the end to win the 500.

The view from my seats this year, maybe not as good as the E Penthouse, but still excellent (I shot few stills, mostly videos that donot upload on FChat):
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Goes back in time, not many interesting roads in the USA, except places like Watkins Glen, etc. So ovals were the obvious choice for racing. In Europe, many intersting locations for real road racing, so that was the obvious choice for Europe.

Ovals werr the way to go in the USA long before TV coverage, so that really is not a factor.

At the end of the day, you can not come close on a road course to the competition you will find on an oval. Not for everybody, but when was the last time anyone saw a professional road race with the level of lead changes (68), amongst so many drivers (16), as we saw at Indianapolis this past weekend. And as someone that has covered all forms of racing as a professional photographer in the 1970s, I have yet to see any race this entertaining.

I cannot mock the appearance of current IndyCars. It serves a purpose, and in person, during this race, the cars actually looked great.

 

Yes, it did impact NASCAR. Are you not reading racing news and interviews? The fact they were so strong before our economic issues is what saved most of the teams.