Indy Car racing needs to be more inclusive. When I started watching the Champ cars we had USAC drivers, F1 drivers, sports car drivers, a motorcycle racer, NASCAR drivers and a driver that raced dragsters. With that kind of diversity it was no wonder the Indy 500 seats would quickly sell out long before Tony said his four little words.

No, short track fans will not fill Indy, nor will they boost the TV ratings into NASCAR territory but I don't think IndyCar is in a position right now to turn away potential fans.

I completely agree. I have the Watson Roadster book that was published a few years ago talking about every roadster that Watson made. Those were truly works of art. The KK roadsters of the 50's were the most beautiful cars to ever turn laps at Indy. I wished to God I could have lived in the times when racing was more "Hey lets try this today on the car at the track" then "Well, what does the computer tell us to do?" Computers are nice for some things but they sure have hurt auto racing for those of use that "tinker".

I missed out on that that era...I've read all about it but yes it would be difficult to accept what Indy is now having seen the past.
But like many on here feel with the silver crown cars the contrast drone of folks saying negative things eats me up at times. Indy is still the pinnacle! For me and all of my close buddies that race...will it happen for any of us, not without the lottery.

Yes if drivers from all the top series would float from car/dragsters/bikes it would sure add to the event. But the sponsorship thing seems to keep guys locked in place.

I'll get back to building a motor so maybe we can be ready soon....

My only question is...why was this post led off with the "HARF" logo? It has nothing to do with club events, even though it is about the Indy 500.
YES...everyone wants the good old days, but this is what we have now. I was a child of the roadsters and novi's too, nothing i loved more then the real noise of a novi, & LOTZ of room for sponsor's ads. But instead of trying to break the 150 mph barrier, we now go 230! In today's disposable world, if fans had to sit for 5 hours to watch the race the stands would be even emptier. Live with what we have & quityerbitchin", no more open trailers rolling thru the gates of the speedway, no more Watson roadsters, no more Jim Hurtubise's! Go or don't go, watch it on tv or change over to the golf channel, I'm just saying it's fast and loud and no place "I" would rather be, and i will be there every minute i can be! And as we always have to say...jmho...bob.

What in my opinion has ruined pretty much all types of racing is the perception that faster is always better. Faster, Faster, Faster. There comes a time when outright speed and tech makes for crappier racing i.e. winged cars. For someone who was raised around racing when you actually built you own car, engine ect. racing has lost most all of its luster and intrigue.

My first memory of the 500 is hearing the radio broadcast of the pileup at the start of the '58 race on somebody's transistor radio while out fishing with my dad on the Ventura pier; I was almost six. My 5-year-old brain pictured 11 cars stacked on top of each other, but despite that skewed image I was hooked.
Things have changed drastically over the years, but the Indy 500 is still "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing". I wasn't able to see the race in person until 2006, in the midst of what some people perceive as "the Dark Ages"; TG, Spec Racing, IRL - all Spectors of the Apocalypse. No matter. I was still overcome by the massiveness of the moment, and I admit I was pretty choked up when the command to start engines was delivered. Now that I live within walking distance of the track and have been to every 500 since moving here in 2009, I still get misty during the opening ceremonies, and my bet is that Eddie Sachs still would too. For people who bemoan the passing of the roadster era and the days of "run what you brung", it's interesting to note that almost all of the cars back then, while somewhat unique in the individual execution, were still tube-framed, solid-axled and Offy-powered, barring the odd Novi or Chenowith-Chevy. Spec racing? Maybe. But show me a more exciting finish than 2006 or 2011, or a more competitive one than last year, not to mention Taku's banzai last-lap dive into one. Empty seats? I never really have time to notice. And bear in mind, there are massive stands now where there were only trees and rabbits in 1958, and suites where the corporate-types that are neccessary to fund any sporting event you can care to name can hide from the noonday sun. Sure, the roadsters were probably the most beautiful 4-wheeled creations that ever existed, but the world has shifted. Constellations were gorgeous aircraft, but would you really want to fly from LA to New York in one after you've been in a 777? Do you miss your black & white Philco that got 5 channels on a good day, and you actually had to GET UP to change the channel?
Sure, things are far from perfect, but I still get a chill when I'm out in my yard and I hear an Indy Car out on the track, and I can't wait to get over there and soak it all in.

In today's world you are not going to see the Indy 500 champion at Daytona or the Daytona 500 champion at Indy. Thats how the series promoters want it. in the past it was easier to flip between the 2 because of the large despairity. DW annoys me during a nascar telecast, but 1 thing he always has right, is the racing has never been closer. No drivers win by a lap anymore. There is not much inovation in any racing anymore. Just about everything at the top levels is a spec format. Some inovation is coming to Indycar. i sure hope it does not change the racing, as the first 4 were as could as anyone could ask for.

If Kurt Busch gets the way paved for doing the double next year think any body else would join him?

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Amen. It is an age of specialization; you won't see too many sprint car and midget drivers graduate to the 500 anymore, unfortunately. You also won't see Jimmy Johnson or Mark Webber either, JR or Hinch at the Daytona 500 or Monaco. Too many differences, fuller schedules, sponsor demands, public appearances.
I am thankful for this:
I live in the shadow of the shrine of motorsports, and still the largest single-day sporting event IN THE WORLD, and:
I am no more than a 2-hour drive from nearly a dozen dirt tracks where I can witness some of the best open-wheel racing I've ever seen.
It's too bad there's no longer the connection between the two that once existed, but it's stil pretty freakin' awesome...

Because Kyle isn't hauling a boat load of money to any of the Indy Car owners. If he was, he would certainly be in a seat. No money=no seat. Simple economics.