[/QUOTE] Foreign drivers and cars have been part of the history of the 500 since day one.[/QUOTE]

Russ, that's quite true about the foreign drivers. They have always been there, but not as the majority of the field as it is today. Plus those guys you mentioned got there on talent & bravery, not foreign corporate dollars. I guess my question to you is, do you really think Denis Hulme, Jochen Rindt & the rest of the people you mentioned put people in the stands like AJ & Mario did? No need to answer that one its that obvious.

I'm no xenophobe, as I like Helio, Kanaan & Dixon today and enjoyed Nigel Mansell & Nelson Pique in their day and Jackie Stewart before that (even though he admitted to being to scared to run a sprinter), but it sure would be nice to see a few of our sprint & midget heroes at "The 500" and do so without ride buying.

Bottom line, in the hey days of Indy you knew you were seeing the best of the best. Today that isn't the case. Read the names of the 33 drivers in this year's 500. How many of them are nameless & faceless to even hardcore racefans. That's the problem, its probably close to 3/4 of the field. Until that changes "The 500" will be a shadow of its former self. That fact saddens me as I love the history of "The 500 Mile Race", but it still remains a fact.