Is the Indy 500 or Indy Car/Cart racing even relevant anymore?

The IZOD Indy Car series can only get better from here. The new IZOD title sponsor will help. The recent race in Birmingham exceeded attendance goals. Opening up to new markets is generating new interest.

I've been to both..the Indy 500 use to be the biggest thing in motorsports, but since the split if CART and IRL, its lost some of its luster. I've been to 10 Indy 500's they did not even sell out last yr, even bump day hardly exists any longer. Hopefully the two CART and IRL will get back together as One and have a great race, they've had exciting fnishes there, it would be nice if the weatherman co-operated also in that area....But for now I say the Daytona 500 is better, had a great finish last yr, remember Andretti and Foyt have won the Daytona 500 as well. I doubt Franchitti or Hornish Jr,Villeneuve will add that to their stats this yr.. Yes winning the Indy 500 is the big one to the open wheel guys, but winning the Daytona 500 to Nascar drivers is their big one..As far as fans, its all about what you prefer...I'm a auto racing fan, I watch both.

The demise of American Open Wheel Racing began as we knew it in 1996 with the formation of the Indy Racing League. When you had 59 open wheel cars racing on that Memorial Day weekend (33 at Indy and 26 at Michigan), the resulting confusion about which race was more important would damage any product's value. It's ironic that, 15 seasons later, an expectation of 40 car/driver combos at Indy is considered "good". What Penske did in 1994 (the winning car was Little Al's second victory) was just part of his four decades of dominance at IMS. Other cars, drivers and owners had various types of dominant months there that added to the legacy of the Brickyard. Penske's entire career there as an owner is one of the Speedway's biggest stories.

As for people's interests, I think that's a much bigger explanation. Barely 20 years ago, there was still only one ESPN, quite a bit less offerings on Pay Per View, only about 10% of the cable/satellite networks we see now, it took a great deal more work to watch a rented movie at home and YouTube was only a misspelling for the phrase "you too". Viewership of all events both live and on television is more fractured than it ever has been. Even an event like a NASCAR race that have gone up in viewership are now seeing that their ratings have peaked and are dropping. Many more choices for entertainment cut the entertainment pie up into much smaller pieces.

I think what was seen in the mid-90's was two-fold: The "split" between CART & IRL happened in conjunction with the astronomical rise in popularity with NASCAR. NASCAR capitalized on open-wheel's confusion and decline, mass-marketing American stars with American car companies.

Was the Indy 500 affected itself? No question. Why? Couple of reasons, to be honest. When you have multiple open-wheel series running, most drivers/teams had to first explain what series they were running in before getting into financials. This was confusing to sponsors, so more of them went with a known product - NASCAR. The 500 has always touted the "best" drivers in the world, but if you had a split series, why weren't the best drivers in CART in the Indy 500? Similarly, why aren't the best NASCAR drivers in the Indy 500. Quoting the Riddler: "Too many questions."

Fast-forward to current. This is the third year of the reunification of open-wheel. There's a new title sponsor (IZOD). You have a new CEO of the IRL that has a marketing background, and is coming in with new/fresh ideas to elevate the sport itself. There are marketable personalities from across the world, not just American. The racing itself is fast and exciting. There are those that think the 500 has lost its luster. You no longer see "track records", and the number of American drivers is low. To be honest, as a fan, can you *really* tell when a car is going 225 MPH vs. 235 MPH? 240? I can't, nor do I really care. What about American vs. foreign drivers? How does a car tell who is driving, by the accent the driver's foot mashes the accelerator? I don't care about that either - I want to see the best open-wheel drivers in the world, regardless of their nationality.

So, if the Indy 500 is perceived as no longer relevant, what would make it relevant again?

* American motors? Not going to happen anytime soon, and not because of unknown engine specs in 2012. They're invested in NASCAR to help evolve their technology, though it would be nice to see them return someday - perhaps with the new car.

* Speaking of the new car? Is it the spec series that's keeping the 500 back? I don't think so - they seem to be able to go 224-230 MPH pretty good to me, and the car's 7+ years old. The new car needs to be ICONIC (look it up on IndyCar.com), and I'm OK with all the cars being relatively the same. NASCAR went spec 2+ years ago - how has it changed vs. how IndyCar has changed?

* American drivers? I think Randy Bernard understands an add'l boost of American presence is needed, but you need to hook them better at a younger age. How do you do this? That's the 64-dollar question, but the new ladder system and getting more involved with karting can't hurt. Progress is being made now, though it will be a slow-go. Here's the funny thing - look back in the beginnings of the Indy 500 ... there are foreign drivers and winners there, too ... so what's the big deal?

* Female drivers? I think the IZOD IndyCar Series has shown the most diversification of any major level sporting series in the world. I'm encouraged to see five, potentially six, female drivers may get shots to qualify for the Indy 500. That's crazy, but in a great way. Diversification of drivers, in their gender, in their nationality, in their background, in their driving abilities ... that's what makes the event and the series so great.

Let me conclude with a true story and thought. I do some travelling across the nation. When I say I'm from Indianapolis, it's funny the number of times I've had people say "Indy 500" in conversation. People *know* the Indy 500. It's part of Americana, even if you don't know the history and heritage. It's a part of my life-blood, in good times and bad. Sometimes, I feel I am somewhat married to the race and the track. What is the first thing you think of if someone mentions, Charlotte, NC? Probably isn't Lowes Motor Speedway and the races.

Anyway, that's a long response to your question. Tune in on May 22nd for Pole Day, May 23rd for Bump Day, and May 30th for the Greatest Spectacle In Racing!

Saying its the largest open wheel series in North America means next to nothing D B. Its gone downhill unfortunately. I was a really big champ car fan so i was sad to see that come to an end and indy isn't doing much better now if at all. Yes I would say its relevant...but not very compared to what's happening in Europe

The Indy 500 suffered and is yet to recover from their stupid feud and split what gave us IRL and Cart which later became Champ Car before they finally ended their stupid feud and merge back together.

That is the real reason.

Open Wheel racing in North America took a huge noise dive as it ticked people off and they stopped watching.

This is year 3 since they got back together.

going to take 5 years or more before they fill the stands again, and over 10 before every race is once again sold out

As a major sports event that brings in sports fans to solid TV ratings...not any more. George using the Indy 500 as his tool to thrust the IRL into the spotlight was an incredible failure. And the series certainly draws minimal network interest, which hurts breaking it out to sports fans on a consistent basis. The "merger" was slated to bring open-wheel racing back onto the national stage with other major pro sports; and it hasn't.

It's still the largest open wheel race in North America even if the series is struggling.

there's no such organization as CART, they merged with the IRL a few years ago. get with the times.

It's not what it used to be, but yes it's still relevant.