Originally Posted by davidm:
I'd bet way more young fans get exposed to racing at your local Friday/Saturday night short track then NASCAR and IndyCar combined.
I would have to say that is completely wrong unless the parents frequent short tracks. But most kids will see their first race on TV (nascar or indycar). If they show interest parents may then take them to a Nascar or Indycar race then possibly a dirt track if they are lucky. Take a poll of all kids under 18 and see where they first witnessed racing 75% will tell you Nascar or Indycar. And 25% will respond with "sprint cars are go-kart things, right?".
Originally Posted by Blackduce:
I remember 1967 to 1974 with 95% AMERICAN DRIVERS, there were 200,000 there for qualifying. Just to see 4 laps for each car and AMERICAN DRIVERS. The crowd standing up for the 4 laps and cheering the AMERICAN DRIVERS. The greatest era of the Indy 500. Oh ya, the dirt cars counted for the points to be the real Indy car Champion.
Lynn
To do you one better there was only 4 foreign drivers who participated in the 500 from 1970 through 1980. Jack Brabham, Vern Schuppan, Clay Ragazzoni and Cliff Hucul. If you add 67, 68 and 69 you would have to add 5 drivers. Jim Clark, Jochen Rindt, Jackie Stewart, Graham Hill and Dennis Hulme. The last all American race was 1980 if you count Italian born Mario Andretti as an official American after changing citizenship. By 1993 foreign drivers were dominating the race with 14 in 93, 16 in 94 and 19 in 95. In 1996 the first year of the IRL there were 10 foreign drivers. Unfortunately by 1995 NASCAR popularity was already making huge strides into taking over the nations racing preference.
Originally Posted by Gene Franckowiak:
Well, Indy owners took racing from being a businessman's hobby to being a businessman's second business.......in the end we all get what we go looking for. Over the years, the owners grew and grew their teams and went from pick up teams to full time paid teams, from mechanics to engineers, from a pit crewman to a car specialists, from a shop behind the house to a 40,000 sq. ft. bulding.......from affordable owned engines to expensive leased engines, from hiring the truly talented drivers to hiring the truly well financed drivers or a driver with a gimmick that could produce $$$$. 95% of the Indy car teams are operating on other people's money and derive their racing budget, payroll, and personal income from others......so, my opinion is that if you do not your own personal wealth to race with, being a Indy car owner is a very unsecure profession...........its hard to feel sorry for them because they new the rules and the risks when they decided to do it. ........somewhere there is a guy who invested his life savings to open a business and he worked very hard but failed and lost everythnig. Indy owners are just American businessmen taking the same risks as non-racers. Sometimes, we have to put our dreams to bed and go face the real world. They should feel blessed that they got to work at a job they loved for as long as they did......some people never enjoy the jobs they are forced to do.
Originally Posted by Indy:
To do you one better there was only 4 foreign drivers who participated in the 500 from 1970 through 1980. Jack Brabham, Vern Schuppan, Clay Ragazzoni and Cliff Hucul. If you add 67, 68 and 69 you would have to add 5 drivers. Jim Clark, Jochen Rindt, Jackie Stewart, Graham Hill and Dennis Hulme. The last all American race was 1980 if you count Italian born Mario Andretti as an official American after changing citizenship. By 1993 foreign drivers were dominating the race with 14 in 93, 16 in 94 and 19 in 95. In 1996 the first year of the IRL there were 10 foreign drivers. Unfortunately by 1995 NASCAR popularity was already making huge strides into taking over the nations racing preference.
David Hobbs and Graham McRae were foreign born and started the 500 during the 70's.
Donald Davidson has said several times on his radio show during the Month of May, that the largest crowd in 500 history was the 1989 race. In the 1989 race, you had 10 drivers that were foreign born, 11 had short track experience and the rest of the field were American road racers or in the case of Rick Mears,an off road racer. So why did the 1989 race have over 400,000 fans in attendance?
Originally Posted by Vukie:
So why did the 1989 race have over 400,000 fans in attendance?
Thats a good mixture if you ask me. Wish there was a magic wand to wave and get things back to those type of numbers with regard to the crowd and the various backgrounds of the drivers. But there isnt, so I just enjoy what we have now! As it is, I'm enjoying the Rolex! Yes, its racing season!
