...sure, imagine all the other Cup tracks only getting 100,000 fans in attendance...oh wait, they would be thrilled to death! Indy is not Daytona or Talladega, Indy is Pocono (the most boring track which gets about 10,000 fans and has "2" races every year) or Michigan. We will not have the 20 car pile-ups, we will more likely have "spin & wins". NASCAR is it's own traveling circus with little input from IMS, so you get what you get. I will keep my 7 seats in turn 1, I will watch the parade of race cars go by, and I will still be excited to see the winner's burnout and the family and crew kissing the bricks after their historical win at "the" Brickyard! And for the record, there were as many passes at IMS as there was on the "asphalt" at Eldora for the trucks. There needs to be one extra emoticon added to the bottom of this page, one for QuitBitchin'!
...just my 2 cents worth, bob.
I have attended all 20 Brickyards and sat in turn 3 for all of them. There are three points in which to look. 1. It seems to me that it use to take 2 or 3 laps for the cars to get sorted out after a yellow. Now the cars seemed sorted out by the time they reach turn 3 and most certainly by the time they are back to the start / finish line. I look at the "Chase" as one one of the reasons. Since the implementing the Chase NASCAR racing has been suffering a little more each year. 2. A new car this year, the Gen 6. As indycars fans have seen the 2nd year of the DW12 has produced some of the best racing the series has seen in years. Availibility of new parts were slow for NASCAR teams causing delays in the development of the new cars for some teams. 3. Speed. The faster they go the harder it is to pass. Restricted cars at high speed tracks makes for more competition. Record passing at indy the past two years and a lower bugeted team finishing 1 - 2 at Talladega this spring all due to restricted horsepower. I wonder if the straights at Indy would make for some drafting and increased passing if the stockcars were slightly restricted. The more you use aerodymamics to achieve speed, the more you need the aerodynamics to stay consistant to maintain that speed. Hence being out front and clean air is so important at high speed tracks.
It shouldn't be too much longer before they (IMS) sees that this only going to loose money and pulls the plug. They will add lights for a night race but it will only have the interest for a year or two. With the very small crowd I bet they were still standing at the drop of the green flags even though no one was around them. HAHA
