Has Indy Lost Some of its Luster?

Editor

This weekend, I’m flying to Indianapolis for the Indy 500, and I’m completely stoked. So I was a little surprised to stumble across this MSNBC article detailing how it’s lost some its luster. Because the race always been so exciting for me, overlooking that recent years have found Indy living in NASCAR’s long shadow, and ignoring the damage inflicted when American open wheel racing split into two factions—IRL and CART—has been easy. But since the two rival series have kissed and made up, and Danica Patrick is, well, everywhere, I have to wonder if Indy is set to regain some of it’s former prestige. What do you think? Are we looking at a new beginning for Indy?

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Posted at 10:00 pm in Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indy 500, Indy Racing League, John Coyle, Racing

Comments

Pressed_Ham
May 24, 2008 at 5:06 am

I hope INDY picks up again, but more so, I hope that formula one picks up in the states.

I also agree with mike, and retroman, and even wildfire a little bit

retroman
May 22, 2008 at 6:11 pm

I’m with Mike, however I expect Indy’s popularity to grow, especially if Danica keeps running over her pit crew. Now if only we could get domestic car makers to start suppling engines and drivetrains again. Nothing against the Hondas and Toyotas, but it seems they’ve kicked us out of the tradition we started. Domestic car manufacturers might learn something to advance their small engine technology if they got involved.

Jim
May 22, 2008 at 6:06 am

I think having a positive role model in Ms. (Mrs?) Patrick is a good thing, it beats the hell outta paris hilton! It’s not like watching Offys running around the track, but if people watch, it’s still good.

GTwildfire
May 22, 2008 at 5:44 am

Comparing Indy to Nascar is like comparing Baseball to Football.
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Americans have tasted blood in Nascar, which is a much more gnarly thus captivating venue. Indy is more for purist type racing fans who naturally react much differently when Indy cars make contact, since doing so in open wheel racing is so much less forgiving.
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Even when the bump ‘n grind is discounted, Indy is technical while NASCAR is tactical.
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I’m not bashing on Indy, but Americans can’t resist when a race reaches out of the TV and grabs them as NASCAR does. Indy will need to shake things up some more just to maintain their share.

Mike
May 22, 2008 at 5:26 am

I don’t think Indy has lost some of its luster. Now NASCAR is another story! I used to love NASCAR when they raced actual cars you could see in a dealer’s showroom. But now, the cars are identical (for ‘safety’ and aerodynamic reasons) except for drivetrains. They’ve become cookie-cutter race cars, and it has ruined the sport for me.