Indycar Attendance?
 

Ok fellow race fans. When was the last time you attended a Indycar race? I'm guilty. My last in person race was 2010 at Chicagoland. Love these cars, but why don't we go more?

Rich M

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Mine was Kentucky in 2011. I don't go any longer due to health problems and living on retirement money. If they ever come back to Kentucky, I may try it again as it is less than an hour from my house.

Quit going about 10 years ago when it was painfully obvious that Marco's dirt track experience hadn't transferred to the rear engine cars..........

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One of the most comical posts on IOW in history.Full marks. Can anyone figure Marco out. I just do not think he got the genes.Mario, Michael, than him. Hard to figure. One race win in god knows how many years. I really think the way he got beat at the Speedway in 06 by Hornish at the line, totally messed up his mind. He has never recovered.I defy anyone to think of a bigger mystery in racing.Any opinions.

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The same reason why people don't go to sprint races. Its easier not to.

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Attended my first last year at the Indy 500. Me and my brother did the Bryan Clauson Indiana Double. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Could not get off work this year for the 500, so I will be going to Qualifying weekend instead. I have Gateway on my schedule this year.

I attend the 500 every year, and I went to the Indy Grand Prix last year.

Initially after reading the question, I considered answering by suggesting many of us in Indiana aren't close enough to many of the tracks on their schedule. However, I thought about it and realized Road America, Gateway, Detroit, and Mid-Ohio are all reasonably close. I know some on here aren't fond of road courses, so that knocks a few of those tracks out of their options, but I don't feel the same way, so maybe I'll have to get to one of them this season.

I won tickets to the 99th 500 from a local radio station. They have an on air contest the Friday before the race every year called the Woody 500. It's a (very slow) go cart race that requires contestants to be 6'6" tall or 300 pounds to enter. I had gotten into a bit of a dust-up involving a Nissan Versa, a baby raccoon, and a beer bottle earlier in the week, so I walked in with a bad limp and a nasty black eye (you should have seen the other guy!), which the DJs promptly began hassling me about on air. I ended up finishing 2nd out of 48, and got two south pavilion tickets as a prize. My Grandpa was getting inducted into Atomic's HoF that Saturday, so dad and I drove straight from Chillicothe to Indy after the races ended. The seats weren't very good, but walking on that hallowed ground, watching the vintage cars, and seeing BC race on the big stage were all memories I'll always treasure.

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I attend the Indianapolis 500 every year. We went to every Indy Car event held at Chicagoland. We were deeply saddened when Chicagoland was dropped from the Indy Car schedule. One of the best races I have ever seen involving any type race car at any track on any type track surface was at Chicagoland. We went to Milwaukee several times when it was on the schedule. We attended an Indy Car event at California several years ago. Back in 1997 we went to Gateway for the CART event there on Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend and then drove over to Indianapolis the next morning for the 500 only to have it completely rained out on Sunday and again on Monday after only 15 lasp. They ended up running it in it's entirety on Tuesday morning.

We're thinking seriously about going to Iowa for the first time early in July for the Indy Car race out there. Heard a lot of good things about the Iowa race and the facility.

On a side note, we'd love to see Sebastien Bourdais and Dale Coyne win another race or two and the championship. Or at least be in contention all season. Dale Coyne Racing is a team that deserves some success. Some very bad luck at Phoenix last week was a huge setback but hopefully they can rebound from it. It was very gratifying to see DCR leading the points over the Penske's and Ganassi's, even if only for a couple of weeks.

My only Indy car race was in 1970 at the Rex Mays classic at the Milwaukee mile.

I have been to many pole and carb days at the speedway but never really cared to go to the Indy 500 because it's not a very good track to spectate at.

When I was a kid (the 70s)I couldn't wait to get home from school to hear on the AM radio who was the fastest at Indy each day.

Last year the only reason we went to carb day was to watch BC . The people next to me had a bunch of info on Conner Daily but didn't have a clue about what BC had accomplished in his racing carrier.

I think I will pass even going to the big track this year but sure am looking forward to attending my first Little 500.

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Been to every 500 since 2004. Visited Iowa, Mid-Ohio, Phoenix (just last weekend), Road America, Pocono and the Indy GP the last few years. Always loved going to Kentucky. Hope to attend Texas and Gateway here soon. Would love to see more ovals on the schedule as well as another event like Long Beach, maybe in Florida towards the end of year.

I don't go to any Indycar races anymore because I can't pronounce any of the driver's names and the cars are just plain Fugly.

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Went to Iowa last year. Went to Indy and Milwaukee the year before that. If you like to see passing go to indy. We sat in turn three and there was a whole lot of passing. A very good race. Iowa was good but it needs to be a night race. Milwaukee was just ok.

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Daly, Hunter-Reay, Andretti, Rossi, Chilton, Dixon, Power, Kimball, Jones, Hildebrand, Rahal, Hinchcliffe, Newgarden, Power,?...Seriously?.....that's like over half the full time field that you should have absolutely no problem pronouncing...unless that is your educational institutions failed you. Hell, there only three, maybe four, that anyone should have any issue pronouncing. Not to mention 8 of those guys above are those Americans that some seem to think are as rare as an appearance by Halley's comet. Could xenophobia be the real issue?

Re: Indycar Attendance?
 

You expect someone who can't pronounce those names to know what xenophobia means? ;)

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xenophobia?
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/21/31...0aa8b2147d.jpg

I got started by listening to the Indy 500 every year on the radio back in the 1950's, and when it was possible to go watch a "Closed Circuit Telecast", I watched it that way. When I moved to Indiana in the mid 1980's I attended every year until a health problem made attending too difficult.
To me, the Indy 500 is an awesome event that is a part of who I am. I am not an expert on the subject, or a historical buff. I just like it.
I fondly remember going to the local Memorial Day parade, followed by the family picnics, sitting with my Dad and my Uncles listening to the race on the radio, and hearing their stories about the times they went to the "500" and times they got to see the "Big Cars" and some famous drivers at some local tracks.
Sure, it's not the same race I grew up with, but life goes on, and things evolve. Good, bad, or indifferent, everything changes. I choose to roll with it.

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My last was the 92nd Indy 500 2008. Before that I had been to about 30 since the start of the IRL. Attended races at Charlotte, Texas, Richmond, Watkins Glen and Indy. Once the IRL morphed into IndyCar (CART ver. 2.0) I slowly lost interest. Heck I even had a racing in my back yard almost at Baltimore and never even went close to the place. I hate the way the cars look today, about the only way I'd go back is if they went back to Richmond and had a good set of support series like Silver Crown and NASCAR Mods. Other that that I'll DVR the races on TV like I do with NASCAR and hit a dirt track on the weekend and watch it during the week when I'm bored.

This will be my 55th Indy 500-I enjoy it now as much as I did when I was 13.
I am going to the little 500 in Anderson the night before and am really looking forward to that as I have never been to that event.

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I don't go anymore because the ticket prices are high and I don't enjoy the spec racing classes very much. The cars being essentially all the same and the especially the engine leases take all the fun out of it for me. I find slingshot aero passing at the end of the straightaway to be uninteresting and push-to-pass to be gimmicky. I don't care much for most of today's indy car drivers. There's usually at most one to three drivers who I really care about seeing do well. And usually the drivers I like the best are ones who have no chance of contending for a win. Anymore I don't like having my personal belongings searched just to get entry into an event/facility.

Plus, I found out that the Little 500 is cheaper, more interesting, and has more competition. Sprint cars are more powerful and more readily display driver ability. I identify with the drivers much more closely and therefore find a higher emotional connection to the event.

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Been attending the Indy 500 every year since 1965, and I watch all of the IndyCar races on TV.

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Last one was '04 at Milwaukee for me. Dario Franchitti won. We actually went to see the USAC Silver Crown and Midget races the day before and went back for the IndyCars. I really do not wish to spend the $$$ on going anymore. The local dirt scene is more than good enough for me.

However.... I do remember my first IndyCar race very well. Having followed NASCAR for decades (let me finish before you go berserk) and religiously going to the MIS races in the infield, my friend and I decided to go check out the CART race one year. 1994. It was about 95⁰F out. We took a big cooler of beer with us, parked, and started walking towards the tunnel. We were told time after time, "You can't take that huge cooler in there."

Our repeated response was, "We are going in the infield," followed by many confused looks from fans.

Well, we walk into the infield, plop down in Turn 2, and unlike a NASCAR race, the infield is barren. Only a few fans around the perimeter from Turn 2 to Turn 3. No wonder the majority had no idea about the infield cooler policy. No one was in it.

The race starts and the cars come through Turn 2 for the first lap. MAN were they fast! I take a sip, look around, and in what seemed a blink of an eye, ZOOOOOM..... they were going past us again! :18: Took about HALF the time the stock cars took to come around.

The true sense of speed was an incredible rush. And the lack of noise (turbo era).

It is one thing zipping down a straightaway to 200+ mph. Seeing it through a high banked corner like MIS was another level of rush. Alex Zanardi took honors that day in a Ganassi car.

Sure do miss MIS on the schedule. If they came back, I could probably be talked back in to going again. Until then..... T.V.

Good topic, Rich. Thanks for starting it.

Re: Indycar Attendance?
 

But you can pronounce Boespflug, Schuerenberg, Rutherford, Abreu, Blaney, Meseraull, Stambaugh, Saldana and Haudenschild just fine, right?

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I agree with you and outside Indiana, it's a more common view than some posting would like to admit to. After the IRL era, it just became less appealing. It's funny how some argue how awesome the product is and just can't understand why there isn't a broader appeal. IMHO, the reason they don't get the numbers they once did is because this series has morphed to be more attractive to the demographic that likes road/street racing and enjoy wine & cheese(ultra rich). In reality they don't seem like they even belong at Indy at all anymore. No longer is there any discernable link connecting Indiana to Indy.:7:

I went to all the Richmond races. Good stuff. say what you want, the old IRL style pack racing was just plain exciting. Even though I grew up watching with my dad in the 80's, the pack racing hooked me. Those guys had 50 pound balls between their legs. I still never miss a race, but these days its on tv. My kids would love to see them on an oval, but St. Pete is all we get here in FL. IMO until they just open the gates at ovals for free, crowds will be small. They could add an extra $.50 to all the concessions and make more money than they do now.

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I know I was super ecstatic the day we traded in Andretti, Villeneuve, Sullivan, Rahal, Vasser, Fittipaldi, and Unser, Jr for such greats as Racin Gardner and Dr. Jack The Teeth Miller. I had a huge Crest toothpaste flag signed by the great Dr. Miller that I would take to the races and fly over my tailgating camp.

I always thought that whole 33 fastest thing was a little outdated as well. I nearly tripped over my Johnson when the 25 and 8 rule was announced. Those Lolas and Reynards with their sinister Buicks, Ford Cosworths, Hondas, and Illmor-Mercedes? I mean seriously? What kind of American institution allows a bunch of Nazis badge a British engine? It was such a relief when they got rid of all those un-American chassis and engines for companies with strong American ideals and unwavering devotion to God, country, and family.....Dallara and Infiniti....

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Here's how much I know about modern Indy racing: A couple of years ago I followed Franchitti's hauler from near Knoxville, Iowa most of the way across Nebraska, & had to Google him to find out who he was...
Haven't followed it since the 1960s, but don't let me rain on your parade. If I was in Indiana & someone gave me a ticket, I would definitely go

Brickyard still trolling away. For someone who professes to be an expert on this particular topic you add so little of value. Bellicosity roll on. I suggest you head over to Racer Mag along with Road & Track and cancel your lifetime subscription to Sprint Car & Midget!

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I know that the 500 is the biggest race in the world! BC was our man as an open wheeler and there is NO replacement for him! Love the biggest race in the world or hate it! I lost my voice yelling for him last year and miss him like a man that put one one him in the Blair Lyster race at camden! What a race that was Tim and I came from 18th place to win! Most of you guys don'thave the passion that BC did!

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I was thinking the same thing, captrat. All that warm and fuzzy speculatory rhetoric that ol' Dan and his buddies conjured up back in the day certainly has stayed with this guy a long time.

Bitterness like that can only be sustained from having a plum position and a corner office with CART that faded like a dry wine fart in a whirlwind back in '08. LOL!

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https://twitter.com/m_glendenning/st...42353669980161

Yep, obviously no one is interested in a foreigner....there were over 80K on the YouTube stream during a period of no track action when I took a look at lunch. https://twitter.com/m_glendenning/st...42353669980161

Has it ever occurred to those few of you beating the dead horse, dismissing facts, and making accusations of trolling and CART employment that it's in the shape it's in because:

1. Competition level was lowered.
2. Tradition was destroyed by coming up with a rule that would ensure certain folks got in?
3. Tobacco money was lost.
4. It ended up going the route of spec with lower powered higher downforce machines that while manufacturing close comp it did create some outright dangerous and stupid racing?
5. A horrible TV deal that's taken them out of the eyes of the public?
6. A strong fanbase was fractured to the point that some aren't ever coming back? Fans that would have turned on a younger generation?

I was at Road America last summer, a place that some claim has no business in American racing....a place that shouldn't be popular with Americans....because it's all oval, all the time. Strong crowd. I also ran into more than a few folks who felt like it was the first time since this whole mess began that an apology of sorts from both sides was being made. Due to the resistance to sit down and compromise they are having to rebuild from the ground up and it's probably not going to get done in the manner you want. So I ask again, if this was all about preserving ovals and hardcore dirt under the fingernails American racers, why aren't we there 22 years later? I think you know the answer, you just refuse to admit it. :)

We have a world class race that we should proud of and shouldn't shut it off just so we can see who we want in it. I think I can speak for many people, judging by what I'm seeing online....what we are seeing happen this month is what a lot of use feel like got robbed from us. Never did I think after 1996 I would get to see a driver of this caliber still in their prime take a risk by changing discipline and coming over to compete against the best our form of this sport has to offer. This is the kind of stuff that place is about, what this series should be about. If were are going to pump this up as a world class race then this is the stuff that should be happening.

My last 3 Indycar races have been Sonoma. Before that was Richmond 2001. I like the oval races, but they are so damn dependant on getting the package right. I like it when the cars don't want to hook up and a missed setup puts you 3 laps down. A lot of fans hate that, they want the race to look like a NASCAR race. I won't travel over 2 hours to see an Indycar race. The driver names don't bother me, I just don't lile that there is no path that doesn't involve "Bring lots of money" to get into Indycars. We currently have 3 money toting crash test dummies in the series and I assume Lance Stroll will be added to that number soon. I would prefer to see someone in one of those seats who got there by winning their ass off in **** equipment, but it will never happen.

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My last is the 2013 Indy 500.

A lot of what I went to Indy for is gone. I went in an era of "there's an Eagle, a Coyote, a Gerhardt, a Mallard, a Brabham, a Watson, an Offy, a Ford/Foyt, a Repco, a Gurney-Weslake, a turbine... Today I see a yellow ugly car, a white ugly car, a red ugly car, Chevy or Honda?? I dunno!

Back then the drivers were a major attraction. Not so much now. I can't tell you right now who won last years race. I was glad to see Bryan run. Happy that Kurt Busch ran the 500. If just 3 of our guys would run the 500 I would be back to stay. For starters, there is no reason short of $$$$ that Windom or Kody Swanson shouldn't be there. They can run pavement.

But it isn't all bad. Having Alonzo is important and it would be nice if it would lead to Lewis coming too. Add Larson and Jimmie from NASCAR and the aforementioned Chris and Kody and you just may have the place sell out months in advance again.

Don't count me out. If I can shake loose a ticket from my brother-in-law I may go. I would like to see Alonzo run.

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I feel you, Bro. I wonder if the issue isn't just too much corporate say so in how things are run and what is and what isn't allowed. The same mindset as having a crate series that only allows one manufacturer or changing the name of the track to be some companies name. I was a dirt late model guy for 30 years and I can say unequivocally it was better when we didn't have 2 powerhouse sanctions calling all the shots. Use to be you went to a special event you didn't know who would show up and that was part of the appeal. The same with Indy, there use to be magic and mystery, what wonderful creation might show up this May. Now it seems to be dictated by the check writers, no passion, no mystery, just cookie cutter look alike ugliness. I've been an open wheel fan for less than a year, but those weird pod things behind the rear wheels are just horrible looking. I understand their intention, but dang, think harder. JMO.

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They're trying; google the 2018 aero kit and you may be pleasantly surprised.
It's easy to blame the current regime on the state of affairs but innovation costs a lot more than it used to; the last throes of CART were as a spec series too, and there wasn't much variety when March came along in the Nineties, just because that was a cheap way to go just as fast as the next guy.
Funny nobody calls the Offy era "spec racing"; sure, you could do something different if you wanted and there was some chassis variation but there was also a lot of Chrome Eagle Theory stuff going on...

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My only Indy car race was at Loudon, New Hampshire in 1998 I believe. It was held along with their "Vintage Celebration" so if you bought a pit pass to get in for the Vintage stuff,you also got to go in the pits at with the Indy cars.

They had an autograph session,and my friends and I got to chat with Donnie Beechler,and the Cahills that owned his car,the same Cahills that fielded sprint cars at Knoxville. We talked with Davey Hamilton,and while he was signing a card I asked him where his Supermodified was,and why wasnt he racing it that night at nearby Star Speedway. With a big smile he looked up and said "I love that place" ! Christopher Hernandez was there,and although I didnt get to chat with him,I had seen him many times in a non wing sprint car,and or midget.

While checking out the Vintage cars I ran into Jack Hewitt,and I asked him if he was going to drive one of Vic Yeradi's vintage cars, (Eddie Sachs's Dean Van Lines Roadster,or AJ Foyt's Sheraton-Thompson Champ car)and he said he didnt know,he hadnt asked Vic yet. He also went on to tell us about winning the Silver Crown race at Hagerstown Md. years before,and after the race Vic let him drive the Joe Hunt Magneto Champ car (no cage) and he said that meant more to him than winning the race. I remembered reading the same thing in Open Wheel magazine many years before.

That was the last Indy car race at NHIS,and even though I can walk to the Speedway now,Indy cars are just not my cup of tea,so I've never gone again. We did have fun in 1998 though.......

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You should look into Zach Veach who will be competing in his 1st 500 this month, he fits your bill.
Also, you may be interested in the story of Scott Dixon as well, widely considered the sport's best contemporary, he definitely did not come from money, but figured out a way none the less.

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My last was last year's Indy 500.
Only reasons that would get me back for the 500 is if Larson runs it and/or I start making more money and I just get bored.
Indy doesn't do it for me because you can not watch the entire race on your own, you end up watching the majority on the big TV and then just watching the cars pass by. It just is not for me. I wish it were, actually. Being in Louisville I am only 2 hours plus a few minutes from the Speedway.
My other Indy Car races were Kentucky in '11 and the Indy 500 in '12.
If they ever come back to Kentucky or Michigan I would be there. But short ovals don't do it for me with the Indy Cars, seem to be choo choo races. But I hope Gateway doesn't turn out that way.

Wouldn't it be cool if the 500 were a non-points open race.? Spec max car length and width for pit lane concerns. Beyond that build what you want and see if it can complete 500 miles before your competitors. They way the 500 used to draw technology from innovators for the ultimate test of time and distance.

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Run whatcha brung Indy 500... luv it!
That would bring in lots of cool stuff!

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The Chili Bowl offers allot of the things that indycar fans want. Innovative cars, open tires, unique engines, American hero drivers. Real emotion in Victory Lane. No empty seats. :6::8: