After reading through all the posts, I'd like to add some opinions / observations / experiences. First a little background on me. I'm 25 years old. I've raced since 2004 (mini cups, 600 uprights, Street Stocks, TQ's, Lightning Sprints). I started out as a NASCAR fan around 1999 to 2000. I saw my first USAC Sprint car race in 2009 (Sprint Week finale @ Haubstadt). I'm now a pretty die-hard open wheel fan. I think non-wing sprint car racing is the greatest form of racing on Earth, and I think the Indianopolis Motor Speedway has always been and will always be the greatest speedway on Earth (being a Hoosier, that was embedded in me before I became a race fan myself). I have been a racer on the track a lot more than a fan in the stands, but I'm catching up on my spectating more the last couple years. So here are some suggestions from the 20-something crowd:

*TAKE A BUDDY - My Dad and I attended that first sprint car race in 2009 at Tri-State. It was the coolest thing I had ever seen by far. We left thinking, "Mom's gotta see this". So we went back and took her along. Even not being a die hard race fan, she was impressed and amazed and it didn't take much persuading to get her back again. The next year, we took two car loads with some buddies, an uncle, and a cousin, and introduced them to Sprint Car racing. Again, no one knew what they were in for, and no one left disappointed. This year, I took another friend and his wife, along with my fiance back to the ISW finale. I spent the entire road trip telling them how awesome it was going to be. I'm sure they were skeptical. My buddy and his wife had not been to any dirt race before, so this was a complete culture shock. The sprints rolled out to warm their motors, and my buddy said, "Aw, he must be having trouble. They're having to push him." (I guess I forgot to mention of few things on the way down). They were instant fans the second that hot laps fired off, and they're already ready to go again. The sport sells itself if you can just bug people to death long enough to go with you! Non-race fans may take a little more adjusting, but take some of your NASCAR fanatic friends with you. They already like racing - show them something good for a change! After watching a guy back it into the corner, hammer off the cushion, and ride a wheelie past the flag stand, it's hard to look at 500 miles of mediocre the same way.

DRIVERS NEED TO INTERACT - Taking time to meet the fans and make the night special for them helps everyone - the drivers, the fans, the track, the series. I was fortunate enough to have a good year at my local track last season. We ran all the races there, won a few, and won the track championship. I have hero cards that I ordered from vista print. I designed them on the computer and just had them made there. I forget how much they were, but I ordered a big box in 2012 and I've been handing them out pretty hard for 3 years now, so it was definitely a good investment. I started going into the stands last season after every race and signing autographs, talking with the fans, and especially taking time with the kids. They really love meeting the drivers and having a little keepsake. I've wore a black cowboy hat at the track for several years as kind of a trademark. Along with the hero cards, I started giving a cowboy hat away to a kid on some nights. On one occasion, I gave one to a little boy (about 5 years old) and autographed it. The next week, when I went back in the stands, he was back at the races wearing that hat, and he gave me a picture he drew of my car, COMPLETE WITH SOME OF MY SPONSORS LOGOS ON IT. That made my night and his. Driver's that don't take advantage of this kind of interaction with the fans are missing one of the most enjoyable parts of being a driver and missing the opportunity to promote themselves, the track, and the future of our kind of racing.

THE TRACTOR SHOW DOESN'T HURT ANYONE - There are a lot of great race tracks in Indiana, but for me it's hard to find anything to complain about at Haubstadt. The track prep is the best in the country and it shows with great racing all night long. I've seen 4 ISW races there over the course of 6 years, and I think you could probably set up your car this year the same way you did 6 years ago and be right on the money. It's smooth, it's consistent, and it's great racing. I personally kind of enjoy watching them work the track and see what goes into it - and it really doesn't take long if you consider they have a fresh, fast track ready in about 20 minutes or so. I've raced at a lot of places where they leave it set for a couple weeks, dump some water on it, pack it in, and call it good. Busted oil pans, and broken spindles later, some might disagree. Another thing about reworking the track is that it gives fans a chance to get something to eat, grab a jacket out of the truck, and check out some t-shirts for sale; and it gives teams a chance to make adjustments, and it gives drivers a chance to mingle with the fans (as mentioned above). This year's ISW event at Putamville was a hell of a race, but once hot laps started, you didn't want to venture away from your seat for more than a couple of minutes or you'd miss something worth seeing - which was every time a car was on the track.

I'll leave it at that for now. Tune in next time when I explain why I agree that kids under the age of 12-15 should be in the stands now and racing themselves a little later.