July 1st, 2011 
Journo Indianapolis Motor Speedway is home to one of the greatest traditions in all of motorsports. The prestige of the place and the events surrounding it made it a perfect fit for the up-and-coming NASCAR Winston Cup Series in 1994. 200,000 spectators showed up that first year – in 2007 the number was 270,000.
17 years later NASCAR at Indy is struggling to find the magic it once had. The racing has never been that good, and attendance has been on the decline – down to 140,000 last year, still reeling from the tire debacle in 2008. With that in mind officials with IMS and NASCAR have been looking for ways to add value to the event.
In recent weeks that talk has centered around the addition of a Grand-Am Rolex Series event and potentially the Nationwide Series at the big track. The idea being, the more events, the bigger draw. Helping the case too is a guaranteed $700,000 payday for the Nationwide event.
Adding the Grand Am Series to Indy is, at least on the surface, a good fit – there is a great road course at IMS used for years by F1 and MotoGP. For the Nationwide cars though, the idea of a shift from Lucas Oil Raceway Park is a little cringe worthy.
The Nationwide cars have been at LROP every year since 1982. The short track always provides great races and great racing. While it would certainly be a novelty to see the cars at IMS, the racing is sure to be lacking.
With the Brickyard just a few weeks away, it’s interesting to think about not just whether or not the Nationwide cars should be there, but whether or not the Cup cars should be there. Certainly even in the worst year the Brickyard has produced attendance numbers any sport would envy. Still, with limited passing ability, the racing has always been lacking.
I think it important for a sanctioning body to occasionally evaluate the quality of its events. When those events reach a point that fan interest is clearly waning, perhaps it comes time to reconsider them. Perhaps, just perhaps, NASCAR is reaching that point with the Brickyard.
Sometimes it’s better to admit when things aren’t working and look for successful solutions than it is beat a dead horse – I’m not sure which they’re doing here.
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They need to either stop racing there or do something special to the cars to allow for more passing. They put plates on cars for certain tracks… maybe they can monkey with the handling somehow to allow for more exciting action.
Something.
They’ll keep racing there tho’ regardless, methinks.
-W
It would be an absolute travesty to move the NNS event. I do not know one single fan who is for that move.
Wouldn’t it be a logistic nightmare to try and use the road course in the same weekend as the big track?
If Indianapolis doesn’t have the magic it once had, there is no one to blame but Tony George. He took his family’s legacy and IMS and single handedly destroyed that magic. Growing up and as an adult, we made that yearly trek to Indy for the greatest spectacle in racing…..and it was. The aura and the magic there was palpable. We’d be there 3+ weeks every May. When the track opened for practic, through qualifying and finally for the big day.
Then the legacy was handed to Tony George as he inherited it from his grandfather. And he decided that changes were needed. He wasn’t satisfied with updating the plumbing. No, he had to alienate owners, drivers and fans by demanding changes in rules and eventually splitting off and forming his own sanctioning body called the IRL. That day changed Indianapolis forever. And it’s been an uphill struggle ever since.
Families that made Indy part of their family traditions, that passed their “reserved seats” down to the next generation stopped coming and there is no longer that tradition. People who knew the track staff by their first names but only saw each other once a year are forever gone.
Tony Hulman would be so sad to see what has become of his magical place.
NASCAR at Indy has always been a snoozefest. The track shape and size is not conducive to good racing, and there is no reason to think think it will improve.
When NASCAR first raced at Indy in 1994, it was truly a thrill, for all of us, to see stock cars on that historic track. The first race at Indy was a sign NASCAR had reached the big time and had crossed over to a new and larger audience that was not defined by geography or socio-economic class. It was the precursor to the massive changes of that occurred after 2000. Of course, as we have all seen, there have been many negative changes in the sport as well, but that’s another discussion.
But if the racing is boring and the stands aren’t close to full, perhaps its time to consider an end to NASCAR at the Brickyard.
I am ok, and frankly a bit excited, about the Grand Am cars at IMS. But the Nationwide cars leaving IRP (or ORP)? No way! Not only would NASCAR be robbing the fans of a neat BullRing, but replacing it w/ a snoozefest at IMS would be beyond comprehension.
I agree w/ Woogeroo on a much needed formula to spice things up at IMS for the Cup tour. Here is the formula: go back to the roots of Indy and for this one race each year teams are allowed to bring an unlimited package. All the cars have to do is fit all their goodies within the COT spec-shell and the spec Good-Year rubbers. Then it becomes, who has the attachments to enter turn one at warp speed?
Keep NNS at ORP (or whatever the name is, seems to change every year but when I say “ORP” everyone seems to understand where I’m talking about) Anyway!! Love the racing at that track!!!
I was never impressed by stock cars at IMS, but I’ve been there. The atmosphere ALONE was worth the trip! What a shout of dismay there would be from drivers who either haven’t won yet or had the chance to win there, plus all the teams, if Cup was done there. I don’t see it going off the schedule anytime soon, it would take a catastrophically small crowd (<100,000) to think that. While I don't want NNS there I'd love to see Grand-Am added to the weekend.
Just another word that this continues to be the worst economic downturn for working people I've ever seen- it's the worst my dad has seen since the Great Depression, he says. I'm $$ hurting badly. Previous to 2007 we went to at least 4 Cup races a year, not counting NNS or Truck. In 2007 we went to 3 Cup races. We've only been to 2 since. We hope to be heading to Daytona today.
I don’t see Nascar leaving IMS any time in the near future. The money is just too good – if I’m not mistaken, it’s the second highest purse of the year after the Daytona 500. Add in the exposure that the “event” status this race generates and you’re still getting a lot of value, even with partially empty grandstands and single file racing. While I haven’t heard any details about ticket sales for the 400, crowds were noticeably larger the entire month of May for the 500.
As for the possibility of adding another race to the Sprint Cup weekend, I think that talk is simply an outgrowth of the track’s new management. There were significant behind the scenes changes in the way the track was operated for the 500 and bunch of new promotions. It appears that the track’s management is trying to right the ship financially after the Tony George era. As a result, there seems to be a renewed focus on growing the bottom line. Adding another race to the Nascar weekend would be seen as a way of doning that by increasing the number of people at the track on Friday and Saturday. As has been mentioned, adding a race, especially on the road course, would be a logistical nightmare. While I’m sure that they could pull it off if they really wanted to, my hope is that this is just a trial balloon floated by the management as they’re brainstorming ways of increasing revenue. The NNS is much better off over at IRP/ORP.
NASCAR clearly doesnt care whether the racing is good or not.they took away rockingham and north wilkesboro.and they keep stuffing mile and a half tracks down our throats. the racing at indy stinks,id be elated if they announced that they were taking it off the schedule.taking a race away from california was a step in the right direction,just gotta take one more away and shut down michigan.
why not race the Cup cars on the road course at Indy?
kentucky will hurt ticket sales. pistol pete is the only person who mentions the fact that bill jr said from day one….no race is needed in that area and you will never get a cup race. kentucky will hurt future sales in bristol, indy and chicago. some isc hacks towed the part line and said the move from atlanta to kentucky is a move inside one market. i would love for someone to show me the map that shows how a track 30 minutes from cincinnati ohio is in the same market as atlanta ga.
unless this year’s event drops off below 80,000 (or ever in the future if that were to happen) i don’t ever see nascar axing the 400 from the schedule. i like the history and atmosphere of the race (been there 4 or 5 times) and the whole weekend is awesome–but the weekend is awesome because of the IRP races! i loved the 400 and liked going for all the practice/qualifying sessions and of course the race was always fun (and yet a slight snoozer, obviously), but the trucks/nationwide IRP races made the weekend worthwhile. taking IRP away from N’wide is a bad decision and i really hope they don’t do it.
the grand am race would be really cool and it makes me want to go see one of those races. i think hosting both on the weekend could be done without being a total nightmare (they could theoretically have their practice/qualifying sessions on thursday, b4 cup practice starts, then only have to revert the track back to the road course for the saturday afternoon race), and i think it would be a nice addition to the weekend… not sure it would suddenly drive people back to the track, as i doubt anyone who has made the trek out there and elected not to return is likely to never return. the track is so huge, traffic so bad, and getting to your seat is such a long walk, that i can understand why people who went in ’08 never came back. if i did all that work to get to my seat for the race and saw that piece of crap race, i’d never return either.
i have a thought. why the hell doesn’t nascar occasionally schedule some events every year/every few years? why do they always have to go back to the same track over and over year after year? i imagine it would help attendance if say texas didn’t always have a 2nd date… you could say the same about any track that isn’t selling out, but especially ones with two dates. if they ran the brickyard 400 every other year or even every 4 years, i imagine the attendance would go back up a little, as people would be more interested in attending a race that has more prestige if you can’t win it every single year.
I have been to the 400 many times. the people are great getting in and out is very easy[always has been] but the race is boring and HOT. move it into late aug. be a lot cooler and that could help. if the drivers like it then keep it going.
NASCAR, please don’t do this. The week at Indy is special because the NASCAR Camping World truck and Nationwide series teams get to have a lot of fun at Indy Raceway Park along with the fans. Then on Sunday, everything gets serious and the big boys of the Sprint Cup Series get to show why they are the top series at the top track in Indianapolis. And everything is right with the world. Any sort of change to this schedule will only alienate more fans away from the Indianapolis area.
I love the schedule just the way it has been. The races at Indy Raceway Park have always been magical for me to watch. That is such a special place to race. The Brickyard 400 is special in its own way because it is on such hallowed ground. But too much exposure to that track can only dilute its special status.
Again, NASCAR, don’t do it!!!!
What a great finish to that race last night! Wish they all could be like that
Why doesn’t Indy host a IRL race on the road course? Keep the Indy 500, but host a race later in the year on the road course. That might be a very interesting event. But NASCAR racing there bores the hell out of me.
Looks like this is actually happening now. How in the world are young drivers supposed to advance their careers now that Nationwide has an expensive COT & identical schedule as Cup? The series was repairable from 2007-2009, but it’s taken down too many teams and tracks to fix today. RIP Nationwide series.
NASCAR changes too much from year to year. They did away with Rockingham & N. Wilkesboro. Away with Memphis (one of my favorites). Away with Gateway. Now away with IRP. It makes one wonder what the execs at NASCAR are smokin’, or whether they have any common-sense. If they only cared about the fans as much as the almighty dollar, maybe their attendence figures would be up.
I don’t know what “Matt” is talking about up there, but NASCAR HAS screwed up the Nationwide Series so much that its just what he wanted, a series full of inexperienced drivers & no excitement. The schedule practically no longer follows the Cup schedule so now the Cup drivers won’t drive in it (except Edwards & Keselowski). With the ‘Choose One Rule’, it scared away evem more Cup drivers. And I would like to point out strongly that the NNS was NEVER a ‘developmental series’ as so many claim. Just like the convertible series, it was a whole seperate CLASS. Smaller, less horsepower cars. It was NEVER intended as a ‘minor league’ & I don’t know where everyone gets that idea. Young drivers already have ‘minor leagues’ to compete in such as ARCA & all the other stock car racing associations that race at local home tracks.